TTC to announce huge service expansion but it will still be worse than 5 years ago

TTC CEO Rick Leary shocked Toronto when he announced his resignation on Thursday afternoon, stating that he would end his term at the transit agency's top job on August 30.

Leary shared a lengthy statement on his departure from the TTC but closed out his message with a bit of a cliffhanger, hinting that a transit improvement was on the horizon

"And not to ruin the surprise, but we have a great announcement about increasing service at the beginning of September that I look forward to participating in," hinted Leary.

TTC CEO Rick Leary resigns https://t.co/FCIHl9UaUD

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 20, 2024

While this tidbit could be interpreted as a prelude to an opening announcement for the Finch West LRT or, less likely, the troubled Eglinton Crosstown LRT, it is actually for something far less exciting.

Reporters present at Leary's resignation probed the outgoing CEO as well as TTC Chair Jamaal Myers to expand on the statement, and Myers told reporters that an announcement would be forthcoming in the "coming weeks."

The TTC confirmed to blogTO that the news will be related to a return to 97 per cent of pre-pandemic service levels, meaning that, regardless of where these increases in service will be rolled out, Toronto will still have less TTC service than five years earlier.

Leary could very well be sticking around for this "big" announcement to close out his TTC career on a high note following a disastrous five-year stint as CEO that saw numerous transit shortcomings and incidents that have shaken public faith in the transit network.