Toronto transit ridership continues to recover, remains lower than pre-pandemic

Transit ridership in Toronto continued to stall well below pre-pandemic levels in May, a new report shows.

A regular report from the Toronto Transit Commission, which will be considered by its board at a meeting on July 14, said Toronto ridership in May sat at 61 per cent of its pre-pandemic level.

A total of 24.7 million rides were recorded across the TTC between May 1 and 28, an increase of 4.4 per cent compared to the previous month, the report said.

Ontario removed many COVID-19 restrictions in March, with mask mandates on transit abolished on June 11.

While the number of rides remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, ridership has increased through 2022. In January, revenue rides sat at 37 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, rising to 61 per cent in May.

“This ridership recovery has been driven by the resumption of special events and festivals, an increase in post-secondary in-person learning and a gradual, hybrid return to office,” the report said.

The vast majority of riders are categorized as infrequent or occasional.

Occasional and infrequent riders on the TTC, defined as those who tap on five to eight times and one to four times per week respectively, made up 81 per cent of recorded rides in May.

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Frequent riders — those who tap nine times or more per week and monthly pass holders — were responsible for just 19 per cent of rides.

Before COVID-19, regular riders made up 32 per cent of revenue rides, compared to 68 per cent for infrequent passengers.

The TTC expects ridership “will continue to increase across all modes,” but noted the potential for disruption caused by future COVID-19 waves.

“The TTC has seen a steady increase in its ridership for the past few months and we are expecting this upward trend to continue in September,” CEO Richard Leary wrote in the report’s introduction.