TTC to study offering free Wi-Fi on buses and streetcars

Thestar.com
July 15, 2020
Ben Spurr

The TTC is taking another look at providing free Wi-Fi on its buses and streetcars.

The agency’s board unanimously approved a motion Tuesday to have TTC staff study the possibility of launching a pilot project of wireless internet service on surface routes that serve post-secondary institutions and designated neighbourhood improvement areas, where residents have fewer economic and social opportunities. If the program were successful it could be expanded to all bus and streetcar lines.

The board requested staff report back about the plan at the November TTC meeting.

Board member Alan Heisey brought forward the proposal, arguing that providing Wi-Fi on buses and streetcars is an equity issue. His motion noted that the TTC has supplied free Wi-Fi at its subway stations since 2018, but the subway network serves only parts of the city and many residents in the poorer inner suburbs, particularly in neighbourhood improvement areas, rely on bus routes.

“Unequal access to information and resources further marginalizes low-income communities and students,” his motion stated.

“In recognizing that all Toronto residents deserve continuous connectivity, the TTC needs a contemporary and co-ordinated Wi-Fi program that reaches every community throughout the city.”

Board member Councillor Jennifer McKelvie, who seconded the motion, said that some of the residents hardest hit by the COVID-19 lockdown have been those who lack access to internet service, and providing Wi-Fi on surface transit routes could help address the problem.

“Having accessible and affordable Wi-Fi will be important for communities to rebound” from the pandemic, she said.

Transit agencies in cities including San Francisco, Atlanta, and Vancouver offer free Wi-Fi to riders or have announced plans to.

According to Heisey, his proposal for the TTC to follow suit would be in line with the results of the Toronto Broadband Study council approved in 2017, which recommended “leverag(ing) existing city assets to improve speed, coverage and capacity” of the city’s internet services.

There is currently no cost estimate for the proposed Wi-Fi pilot. A city report published Tuesday projected the TTC will be facing a $700 million operating budget shortfall by the end of the year due to the pandemic, which has devastated transit ridership and forced the agency to spend more on vehicle cleaning and other measures intended to prevent the spread of the virus.

The motion approved by the board directed the TTC and city to ask the federal and provincial governments to help fund the Wi-Fi proposal.

The TTC has considered providing free Wi-Fi on buses and streetcars before but rejected the idea. A 2014 staff report determined such a program would be technically feasible but its costs would be significant. It also concluded there would be “little customer demand” for onboard Wi-Fi because most people who own mobile devices already have a data plan that allows them to access the internet while riding the TTC.