The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) is reporting a 20 per cent jump in revenue for 2023 largely due to more people paying for parking.
In a report to the Toronto Parking Authority audit and risk management committee, the agency said it is recovering from revenue lows seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The committee will consider the TPA’s financial report at a meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s what it says.
$10.3 million more going to the city this year
Total net income for 2023 was $6.5 million more than in 2022, the TPA said.
The agency, which operates municipal on-street pay and display parking and off-street parking facilities in Toronto, also runs Bike Share Toronto, which provides bicycle rentals on a short-term basis throughout the city.
The TPA manages roughly 20,000 on-street parking spaces, as well as about 22,000 off-street spaces at some 250 facilities, including automated and partially automated lots and garages.
Furthermore, it operates about 18,000 parking spaces for third parties like the TTC, and its Bike Share Toronto network includes 7,100 bicycles and 680 docking stations throughout Toronto.
Parking rates vary throughout the city, but the TPA said that in 2023, it reported a net income of $38 million.
“Transaction volumes for on-street increased to 83.2 per cent of 2019, and off-street increased to 83 per cent of 2019,” the agency said in its report.
“Bike Share ridership continued to increase due to the 2023 expansion of capacity and ebikes.”
The agency added that its annual distribution to the city for the 2023 financial year is $32 million, $10.3 million more than what was expected.
At the committee, the TPA board of directors is being asked to approve the authority’s audited financial statements for 2023.
Drivers now required to pay on-street parking on statutory holidays
Earlier this year, Toronto police said drivers would have to start paying for on-street parking on statutory holidays.
Effective Feb. 19, officers have been ticketing vehicles that do not pay. Police said they have broken with past tradition in “response to the evolving needs of our growing city, where the demand for parking has significantly increased.”
The force added that the reason for the change is the increased competition for curb space due to bike lanes, CafeTO, streetcar routes and other infrastructure developments that need more consistent parking enforcement.
The money collected from on-street parking and enforcement is for the city, it added.
Illegal parking fines more than double in Toronto
Parking revenues aside, the fines for parking illegally in the city are up, too.
As of Dec. 1, 2023, the penalty amount rose to $75 from $30.
The TPA made the decision to boost its illegal parking fines to $75 in 2021.
The city recorded revenues from parking tag fines, including any related fees and charges, of nearly $103 million in 2022, up from around $90 million in 2021.
— with files from Gabby Rodrigues and Tessa Bennett