Item - 2025.TTC1.10

The TTC Board requested Staff report to the Board in Q2 2025 with the following:

1. Findings from the UITP TTC maintenance review that shall also include a focus on the ATC signaling system to assess system performance and any root cause(s) of signal failures.

2. A review of communication protocols with riders during service interruptions, which includes:

1. Auditing all PA systems to ensure that announcements are intelligible;
2. Enhancing notices for the hearing impaired;
3. Improving timeliness of service disruption and resumption notices in stations and shuttle bus stops directly to affected riders through increased TTC personnel complement or other means;
4. Improving the way public notices of disruptions are communicated to riders through media; and
5. Exploring the creation of a TTC app or partnering with an existing transit app provider that provides riders with relevant, real-time information.

3. In consultation with ATU 113, the potential for improving the efficiency of shuttle bus operations and more timely commencement of shuttle buses in response to service disruptions, including an assessment of how many buses are available to provide emergency shuttle buses at any given time and utilization rates of "Run As Directed" buses.

4. In consultation with the Division of Transportation Services, the feasibility and efficacy of providing options and redundancy for transit on surface routes, including priority lanes for surface transit.

5. Solutions to the unauthorized access to subway tracks.

Service disruptions on our subways are becoming more and more frequent. The recent suspension of subway service during morning rush hour multiple days in a row has caused significant chaos for transit riders. Too many Torontonians have been late for work or school, stuck in trains underground or waiting too long for overcrowded shuttle buses.

The causes of these disruptions were varied, including a trespasser on the tracks on Monday, December 9th that interrupted service on Line 1 for an hour and a half, and signal issues that led to the entirety of Line 1 being shut down for an hour in the morning of Wednesday, December 11th.

Torontonians are deeply frustrated with the unreliability of TTC service caused by these service disruptions. We risk losing riders if they cannot count on the transit system to get them to work, school, or appointments on time. We must address this issue seriously to regain the trust of transit users.

This motion requests TTC Staff to:

• Conduct an external review of signalling system maintenance.
• Improve communication with riders during service disruptions.
• Look at ways to make shuttle bus service start sooner after a disruption and ensure they run more efficiently.
• Look at the feasibility of providing more options for transit riders so that if there are subway disruptions, other modes are available, including the potential of priority surface lanes on parallel routes.