No single program takes up a larger share of Toronto’s operating budget than its transit system.

The city’s proposed 2018 budget, which council will debate at a special meeting starting Monday, includes a whopping $1.98 billion for the TTC, which is almost one-fifth of the city’s projected $11-billion operating costs this year.

Coming months before an October municipal election that Mayor John Tory is expected to contest by leaning heavily on his claimed achievements on the transit file, the proposed budget would increase investment in the TTC while introducing policies aimed at making transit more affordable.

“Year over year we have been making unprecedented investments in providing more service and better service for TTC riders,” Mayor Tory said at a recent press conference on transit policy.

Critics argue the budget doesn’t do enough to address chronic crowding on the TTC, however. And despite the larger budget, service will not significantly improve for most riders this year.

“The TTC has been underfunded for years and this budget will not deliver the service that riders need,” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen, executive director of advocacy group TTCriders.

Are TTC fares going up?

No. For the first time since 2011, the cost of riding transit is not increasing this year. Adult fares paid for with a Presto fare card, ticket, or token will remain at $3.00, while adult cash fare stays at $3.25. Monthly Metropasses will still cost $146.25.

Is the city investing more in the TTC?

Yes. The $1.98-billion gross operating budget, which covers both the conventional transit system and Wheel-Trans, is a record high.

More than half of the gross budget is made up of revenue the TTC takes in from fares. Discounting that revenue, the city will spend $576.8 million to subsidize conventional service this year, and $143.4 million to subsidize Wheel-Trans.

For the conventional system that’s an increase of $30 million, or 5.5 per cent, compared to last year’s subsidy.

How many riders does the TTC expect to carry?

The TTC is budgeting for 539 million trips on the conventional system this year, just 3 million more than in 2017.

If the ridership projection is correct, the city’s 2018 TTC subsidy works out to roughly $1.07 per rider.

Although the TTC’s per rider subsidy has increased in recent years as ridership growth stalls and the cost of operating the system increases, Toronto still has one of the least subsidized transit systems on a per rider basis in North America.

According to TTCriders, the average subsidy for transit systems on the continent in recent years was about $2.60 per rider. The group is advocating for the city to increase its subsidy to $1.30, and for the province to match that, in order to bring the TTC in line with other agencies.

If the budget is increasing, does that mean existing service will improve?

For the most part, no. The 2018 budget calls for maintaining existing service levels, which means buses, streetcars, and subways will generally operate as frequently as they do now.

Instead, the TTC attributes its higher costs to new expenditures on items like the Spadina subway extension, the ongoing implementation of Presto, and provincial legislation that has increased the cost of labour.

Some service will get better. Last month the budget committee voted to spend an additional $1 million to add service on 22 bus routes that experience the worst crowding. The improvements would come into effect in September.

The budget committee voted down a motion from TTC board member Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21 St. Paul’s) that would have invested $3.2 million this year to ensure no bus routes exceed TTC crowding standards, instead of just focusing on the worst lines.

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Mihevc said that the decision not to give the TTC enough money to adhere to its own crowding standards “is the sign of a city that isn’t willing to invest in mobility.”

The TTC says it has a limited ability to address crowding on streetcar lines due to an ongoing vehicle shortage caused by delays to the agency’s $1-billion order from Bombardier.

How is the TTC transfer policy changing?

The budget includes $11.1 million (comprised of $6.1 million from the operating budget and $5 million from the capital budget) to implement timed transfers later this year. If the policy is approved, Presto fare card users will be able to make an unlimited number of trips within a two-hour window on a single fare.

Timed transfers have been on transit advocates’ wish list for years, and Mayor Tory said last week the measures will “make life more affordable and more liveable for the residents of the city.”

Pizey-Allen agreed the policy is “a big win for transit riders.”

The program would start in August and is expected to cost the TTC $20.9 million a year by 2020.

What’s being done to help low-income riders?

Roughly 36,000 low-income residents will be eligible for discounts on TTC fare this year if council approves funding for the Fair Pass program.

Under the first phase of the program, which would begin in March and cost $4.6 million, Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works clients who don’t receive transportation supports would be eligible for discounts of 33 per cent on single fares and 21 per cent on monthly passes.

Future phases of the program would extend eligibility to other low-income groups, with the goal of providing 193,000 residents with cheaper transit by 2021.

Councillor Mihevc, who is also the mayor’s poverty reduction advocate, said the program is “the single biggest initiative to help low-income working families and adults.”

Pizey-Allen argued the program should be enhanced. “We need deeper discounts rolled out faster,” she said.

The program would be funded through the city’s social development department, not the TTC budget.