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Transit & Streets
Free TTC for Toronto
Free TTC for Toronto
A ride costs $3.30 today. I will make it free.
Toronto runs on its transit. Nurses on night shift, students, cleaners, seniors and workers from every corner of this city keep Toronto moving. A city that depends on its people moving should not charge them to move.
Free transit puts money back in your pocket. A daily rider spends well over $1,500 a year on fares. It also gets the city flowing again: every person who leaves the car at home is one less car stuck on the Gardiner, the DVP or Eglinton.
Torontonians already pay for most of the TTC through their taxes. Fares cover less than half of what it costs to run. My plan asks for the last piece in a fairer way: from those who can afford it most, not from working families.
Three stages, each funded before it starts
Stage 1 (Year 1): Free for those who need it most
Seniors, youth 13-19, post-secondary students and Fair Pass (low-income) riders ride free. Children 12 and under already do.
Estimated cost: $202–238 million a year.
Paid by: the commercial parking levy at its starting rate ($150–182 million a year) and a new land-transfer-tax step on sales over $3 million ($25–50 million). Stage 1 starts once the levy is billing; if the levy lands at the low end, it opens with seniors, youth and Fair Pass riders, and students join when the money is in place.
Stage 2 (Year 2): Free evenings and weekends for everyone
Running total: about $458–524 million a year.
Paid by: the commercial parking levy at its full rate, which also cuts congestion, and a higher land-transfer tax on high-value property sales.
Stage 3 (Years 3–4): Free for everyone, all the time
Running total: about $1.05–1.15 billion a year.
Paid by: city sources ($503–588 million, including PRESTO savings), with Queen’s Park and Ottawa paying their fair share for the remaining $466–651 million.
Full costing: Budget for Toronto.
Who does not pay
Working families and homeowners. My one-year residential property tax freeze holds, and no stage depends on raising residential property tax.
My guarantee
No stage starts until its money is secured and published. If the province or Ottawa won’t commit, Stage 2 stays in place until they do, and I will fight to make them pay their share.
Toronto will no longer throw its people away.
Note on the numbers: Costs are planning estimates based on the TTC’s published 2026 budget. Figures for each stage, including ridership by fare type, will be reviewed and confirmed with the TTC before any stage begins.
More on this topic: Transit & Streets. All issues: A Plan for Toronto.
