Item - 2025.TTC11.8

Tracking Status

TTC11.8 - Motion without Notice - An Urgent Need to Speed Up New LRT Routes - by Chair Jamaal Myers, seconded by Vice-Chair Joe Mihevc

Decision Type:
ACTION
Status:
Amended

Urgent - Without measures to improve performance and speed, the new LRT lines won’t shift customers from private vehicles, resulting in continued congestion.

Commission Decision

The TTC Board:

 

1. Directed the TTC CEO to work with the City Manager, the Ministry of Transportation, Metrolinx, Mosaic Transit Group and/or Crosslinx Transit Solutions to significantly improve performance, frequency and speed on Line 5 and Line 6 by exploring and implementing where possible, the following measures including, but not limited to, strengthening transit signal priority, feasibility of increasing service frequency (including any required operating funding subsidy increase from the Province of Ontario), reviewing internal TTC and City of Toronto policies which govern speeds on surface routes including requirements to slow at intersections and have speed limits below those of parallel cars, and examination of line management data to uncover specific sources of unreliability and delay, and to provide a progress update to the TTC Board no later than Q1 2026.


2. Directed the TTC CEO to report back to the TTC Board in Q4 2026 on a plan to measure the performance of LRT lines, including end-to-end travel targets.

Summary

The recent opening of Line 6 is an exciting and important addition to transit infrastructure in the City of Toronto. Line 6 will bring rapid transit options to more than 230,000 residents within walking distance and move more than 51,000 riders each weekday. It runs on a dedicated right-of-way along Finch Avenue West, from Finch West Station on TTC’s Line 1 (Yonge-University) to Humber Polytechnic’s North Campus at Humber College Station.

 

To ensure its success, the Finch West LRT must be fast and convenient to use. The TTC Board must ensure it exhausts every opportunity to realize this vision of fast and convenient transit for our customers. As the TTC continues its soft opening of Line 6, there are opportunities to improve its performance and speed along the route by looking at more aggressive, active transit signal priority, increasing service frequency, and removing or changing internal TTC, City of Toronto and Metrolinx policies that affect vehicle speeds.

 

The Board is also cognizant of the imminent opening of Line 5, slated for 2026, and seeks to ensure that all learnings from the opening of Line 6 are applied, as appropriate, to Line 5. It is critically important, that Line 5 service meets the expectations of our customers who have long awaited the opening of this critical east-west rapid transit corridor, particularly in advance of Toronto co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Background Information

(December 10, 2025) Member Motion on An Urgent Need to Speed Up New LRT Routes
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/ttc/bgrd/backgroundfile-260982.pdf

Communications

(December 9, 2025) Letter from Mayor Olivia Chow (TTC.New)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/ttc/comm/communicationfile-199687.pdf
(December 10, 2025) E-mail from CodeRedTO (TTC.Main)

Motions

Motion to Introduce Motion without Notice moved by Councillor Alejandra Bravo (Carried)

Motion to Amend Item moved by Julie Osborne (Carried)

It is recommended that the TTC Board:

 

1. Direct the TTC CEO to work with the City Manager, the Ministry of Transportation, Metrolinx, Mosaic Transit Group and/or Crosslinx Transit Solutions to significantly improve performance, frequency and speed on Line 5 and Line 6 by exploring and implementing where possible, the following measures including, but not limited to, strengthening transit signal priority, feasibility of increasing service frequency (including any required operating funding subsidy increase from the Province of Ontario), reviewing internal TTC and City of Toronto policies which govern speeds on surface routes including requirements to slow at intersections and have speed limits below those of parallel cars, and examination of line management data to uncover specific sources of unreliability and delay, and to provide a progress update to the TTC Board no later than Q1 2026.


2. Direct the TTC CEO to report back to the TTC Board in Q4 2026 on a plan to measure the performance of LRT lines, including end-to-end travel targets.


Motion to Adopt Item as Amended moved by Councillor Jamaal Myers (Carried)

Vote (Adopt Item as Amended) Dec-10-2025

Result: Carried Majority Required
Total members that voted Yes: 9 Members that voted Yes are Paul Ainslie, Alejandra Bravo, Fenton Jagdeo, Liane Kim, Josh Matlow, Joe Mihevc, Jamaal Myers (Chair), Julie Osborne, Dianne Saxe
Total members that voted No: 0 Members that voted No are
Total members that were Absent: 1 Members that were absent are Ausma Malik
Source: Toronto City Clerk at www.toronto.ca/council