No Refunds for Discontinued TTC Tickets and Tokens: An Investigation Behind How the Decision Was Made

What happened

In October 2024, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) announced that it would stop accepting tickets and tokens and that there would be no refunds or exchanges for these discontinued fares.

Within days, riders contacted our office with concerns about the TTC’s decision not to offer refunds or exchanges. Some riders told us they had saved hundreds of dollars’ worth of discontinued fares which they were unable to use even after the TTC board extended the deadline by five additional months until June 1, 2025.

We contacted the TTC to get more information about how the refund decision was made. However, in our initial inquiries, staff were unable to explain who made the decision or how it was reached.

What we did

On Aug. 6, 2025, Ombudsman Kwame Addo launched this investigation into how the TTC made the refund decision. The investigation focused on:

• the TTC’s process leading to the refund decision, including how the TTC used relevant policies and equity considerations to inform the decision
• how the TTC communicated and engaged with the public, both on the refund decision and on the requests for refunds from individual riders

This investigation did not look at the fairness of the TTC’s decision to discontinue these fares, or of its decision not to provide refunds or exchanges.

We interviewed 37 people, including TTC board members, current and former TTC staff, City staff, advocates, researchers and riders who complained to our office. We also reviewed hundreds of internal and public TTC documents.

What we found

• No one we spoke with – from TTC staff to board members – could agree on who made the refund decision. The TTC did not follow a transparent process, as it did not consider the decision publicly and it failed to produce any record of the refund decision. 
• Neither staff nor the board clearly set out the criteria for when this type of refund decision should be made by the board and or by staff. The TTC does not have a documented process to guide certain types of fare decisions.
• The TTC failed to gather any data, conduct an equity impact analysis or consult the public to understand and mitigate the impact of the refund decision on riders.
• The TTC did not consistently communicate with the public that there would be no refunds or exchanges for discontinued fares, even though there was an assumption among some riders and even some staff that tokens did not expire.
• In fall 2019, the TTC put out communications that included a brief mention that it would be discontinuing tickets and tokens and would not offer refunds. The TTC said nothing more on the issue of refunds until late 2024.
• The TTC denied all requests for refunds for discontinued fares, including for riders who said that they had exceptional circumstances.
• The TTC justified its decision not to provide refunds by referring some riders to a fare policy document that does not exist. A refund policy that some staff relied on was outdated and unknown to some staff who were involved in considering refund requests.

Our recommendations

Ombudsman Addo has made eight recommendations to strengthen how the TTC handles its decision-making about fares, equity analysis, the status of board requests, its public-facing rider policies and its process for approving and updating policy documents.

Although this investigation focused on the process leading to the refund decision, it uncovered broader systemic issues at the TTC. Once implemented, these recommendations will strengthen decision-making at the TTC and help ensure it is serving the public in a fair, transparent and accountable way.

The TTC board and staff accepted all eight of these recommendations.

Read the report

Read the full report, No refunds for discontinued TTC tickets and tokens: An investigation behind how the decision was made, including detailed findings and recommendations.