More TTC Factoids

[bcholmes]

• Between 1991 and 2001 the City of Toronto grew by 9% but transit funding was cut by half in the same time period. Funding cuts led the TTC to cut the bus fleet by 22% and to close two operating garages.
• The TTC is more reliant on revenues from fares than any other transit system in the developed world.
• The TTC is the only major transit system in the developed world to fund regular operations entirely from the property tax base and from fares.
• In Toronto, 80% of the TTC's operating budget is paid by riders. This compares with 58% in Montreal, 46% in Vancouver, 59% in New York and 52% in Chicago. The Canada-wide average is 62%. In the US, the overall average is 41%.
• Fares have more than doubled since 1990 and ridership has fallen by 10%.
• The Province of Ontario used to provide 50% of the operating costs for the TTC but under the Harris Tories, this was eliminated entirely.
• Capital investment per capita in public transit in Canada, at US$60, is less than half the recent level of investment in Seattle, New York, Denver and San Francisco.

I think that these numbers are a coupl'a years out of date (I think they're for 2005) but I don't think they've changed that much in the last few years.