Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow is promising to make the TTC free after 10 paid rides in a week, an initiative that she says could be paid for with money already set aside in Toronto’s budget. Chow made the announcement near a TTC bus garage in Scarborough on Friday morning. The proposed weekly fare cap marks Chow’s first major campaign announcement since formally launching her re-election campaign one day prior. Chow is also promising to freeze TTC fares for a fourth consecutive year in 2027. “If I am re-elected after you take 10 TTC trips in a week every ride for the rest of that week will be free,” Chow promised, noting that the change would take effect sometime in 2027. “If you take the TTC to work five days a week that means your evening and weekend trips are free. You can take your kids to the library, get your groceries, get to a medical appointment for free or go shopping, see your friends and go to a Jays game for free.” Earlier this month, a monthly fare cap of 47 paid trips on the TTC went into effect, meaning that any rider who pays with PRESTO, debit or credit card, and exceeds that number of paid trips will already travel for free for the remainder of the month. Chow, however, wants to expand the initiative further and has previously asked staff to report back with a plan to lower the monthly cap to 40 trips starting in 2027. The mayoral candidate said that the weekly fare cap would mean that riders who take just three additional trips a week would save approximately $1,000 a year. Chow said the cost of the initiative would likely be covered by the $12.2 million that has already been set aside in Toronto’s budget for expanded fare capping, calling the plan “affordable and responsible.” Chow was asked whether it is realistic to continue to freeze fares and expand fare capping when the TTC continues to deal with lower ridership than it had prior to 2020 but said that she remains “confident” that it can be done. The TTC entered its budget process last year facing a $232-million deficit and needed to withdraw $35-million from a reserve fund, among other steps, to be able to keep fares frozen. “It is my commitment to keep fares affordable,” Chow said. Chow’s announcement on Friday comes one day after fellow mayoral candidate Brad Bradford promised to put a “a permanent, visible police presence inside Union Station” and “raise the standard for safety and cleanliness across our transit system.” Bradford has also campaigned on a promise to make the largely unfunded Eglinton East LRT his top transit priority, and to have “shovels in the ground” on the project by 2030. In a statement on Friday, Bradford’s campaign told CTV News that Chow’s is “proposing more of the same, asking us to trust her that she’ll follow through on her commitments when she’s shown that she’ll only do so in an election year.” “The status quo on affordability and congestion is no longer acceptable. Under Olivia Chow, TTC ridership went down in 2025 and 2026. This year, delays are up 12 per cent. People aren’t choosing the TTC because under Mayor Chow, it isn’t safe and it isn’t reliable,” the statement notes. “We need to have people using public transit. Brad Bradford is the only candidate who will bring real change to the people of Toronto to make life more affordable and get people moving.” Fellow mayoral candidate Chris Alexander also slammed Chow’s proposal on Friday, releasing a statement in which he accused her of “handing out free rides she has not paid for, on a system that lost $140 million at the gate last year.” At a media availability later in the day, Alexander told reporters that he “absolutely disagrees” with the strategy as it “doesn’t address the elephant in the room” - mainly repairs and billions of dollars in unfunded capital projects at the TTC. He added that “regular riders shouldn’t have their fares frozen endlessly” when the TTC needs significant new investments. “We are going to have a detailed proposal next week that tries to optimize reliability, revenue, ridership while looking at the issue of repairs. That involves generating more revenue from those who can pay but we very much want to help those on fixed-incomes who need a break,” he said. Toronto’s municipal election is set for Oct. 26.
