Since 2016, we’ve seen skyrocketing numbers of Uber and Lyft vehicles on Toronto streets, after the City changed its regulations and turned key decisions about ground transportation over to ride-hailing giants.  We’ve seen emissions and congestion get worse as an over-supply of drivers circulate in search of passengers.  Driving empty more than half the time, they are seeing their earnings plummet.

But the impacts don’t end there: According to City data, about half of ride-hailing trips would otherwise have been on TTC.  In 2019, City data shows TTC lost about 31 million rides this way.  Unless the City takes back oversight over ride-hailing activities and takes appropriate action, Uber and Lyft will continue to contribute to the TTC’s ridership death spiral.

Luckily, there is consensus among candidates that the City needs to act.

TTC riders and RFTO sent out questionnaires to all Mayoral and Council candidates to find out what they would do to interrupt this vicious cycle, asking:

1. Will you support policies that restore public transit and ensure it can attract riders out of cars and onto other sustainable modes such as transit, walking and biking?
2. Will you support policies that help move people back onto public transit from private vehicles (personal or ride-hailing)?

Responses at a glance:

• 76 mayoral and council candidates responded altogether;
• 83% answered an unqualified “yes” in support of policies that would help move ride-hailing passengers back onto the TTC;
• 6% supported policies that reduced car use in favour of sustainable modes of transportation, but did not speak to ride-hailing specifically;
• 5% answered “No”;
• Three out of five councillors on the TTC Board: Jaye Robinson, Cynthia Lai and Jennifer McKelvie, failed to respond to this or any other TTC Riders’ questions.

Find your own ward and see who is ready to take action on sustainable transportation, below!

WARD          WARD NAME                                                   CANDIDATE                                          RESPONSE

We list candidates who responded to either the TTC Riders’ or RFTO survey, and also recorded non-responses by incumbents

Qualified yes:

Candidate Brown: “We need to rebuild public trust in transit by improving the safety and accessibility of platforms before we can convince them to leave private transit.”

Candidate Hatton: It seems ride sharing is here for good as part of the mix. Just as cars came on the scene a hundred years ago, and new electric bikes, scooters etc are now here, all detract from transit use – as do bike lanes.  There must be a set of rules for all types of road users. But also, transit has to compete, and to be planned and built with awareness of the alternatives.

Candidate Tory: (excerpt) Yes, the Mayor supports policies that restore public transit and attract residents to sustainable modes of transportation. The Mayor is committed to continuing to protect and champion the historic, fully-funded $28-billion transit plan he secured for Toronto that is agreed to by all levels of government, with funding and shovels already in the ground. This plan will deliver the Ontario Line, Scarborough Subway Extension, Yonge North Extension, and Eglinton Crosstown West Extension. …dditionally, last year the Mayor supported a motion which directed the city staff to study the impact of ride-hailing services on public transit, which builds on the City’s 2019 report “The Transportation Impacts of Vehicle-for-Hire in the City of Toronto.”