Access to Information/Freedom of Information


Response to COVID-19

The TTC Freedom of Information Office is endeavoring to process all new requests, and respond to all communications within a timely manner. Due to off-site staffing circumstances, there may be delays to decisions, as well as delays to the disclosure of large records, such as video, that may not be able to be completed until a later date.

Special note for video requests:

Please note that the 72-hour transit video retention policy is still in effect. As such if you would like access to video footage while the TTC is operating under special COVID-19 procedures, it is recommended that you contact us to request that the video footage be preserved in order to ensure it will be available once regular operations have resumed.

If you would like to preserve video footage please take the following steps:

Send a video preservation request email to FOI@ttc.ca

In your email please provide the following details:

  • date and time of incident
  • TTC vehicle number
  • brief details about the incident that took place
  • location

Alternatively, please call the TTC FOI voicemail number at 416-472-2011 and leave a message indicating that you would like to make a video request. The voicemail is being monitored daily from Monday to Friday, and you will receive a call back during weekday business hours in response to your request for video preservation.  On weekends please contact TTC Customer Service at 416-393-3030 to request video footage be preserved. 

Freedom of Information Inquiries

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) believes that its governance, operations and activities should be accountable and transparent. The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act establishes a general right of access to records held by municipal government and local agencies, boards and commissions. MFIPPA provides the parameters for access to records held by the TTC and the rules for protecting the personal privacy of individuals whose personal information is retained by the TTC.

Making a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request

In order to make an FOI request please note the following:

  • $5 application fee (no taxes apply; cash, money order or cheques payable to the Toronto Transit Commission)
  • completed  FOI request form
  • If acting as an agent on someone’s behalf, a signed letter of consent to act on their behalf and a photocopy of a piece of their identification with a signature (such as a driver's license) for verification purposes must be submitted with the application
  • If requesting your own personal information, please include government issued ID with your request, to verify identity

When completing the request form, include the following:

  • Specify the exact records you require
  • Be as clear and as detailed as possible with the description of the record requested
  • Ensure the form Includes an original signature

Video Requests at the TTC:

  • Be advised as per TTC policies and procedures video footage is only stored for 72-hours in all subway stations, subway trains, buses, streetcars and LRT vehicles.  Video footage for Wheel-Trans buses is retained for 7-days. If you wish to make a request for video footage it is recommended that you contact either the TTC FOI Office at 416-472-2011 (during working hours) or the TTC Customer Service Office (416-393-3030) to request that video footage be preserved before the aforementioned retention periods expire.
  • As per legislation the TTC is required to preserve the personal information of all individuals captured in video footage. As such, requests for video footage can be subject to a video editing fee that blurs the faces of other individuals in the requested footage.
  • Please note the TTC utilizes an external company to apply these digital processing edits to videos.  All costs associated with this process are the responsibility of the requester.

Making an FOI request for TTC video footage:

To request a video from the TTC follow the regular FOI process listed above. If requesting video footage from a TTC transit station, please provide the following information:

  • Station name
  • Specific location within the station (i.e. subway platform, streetcar platform)
  • Details of event
  • Description of what you were wearing

If requesting video from a TTC vehicle (bus, streetcar, or specific subway car) please provide the following information:

  • Time frame
  • Vehicle number
  • Description of events (what happened, was the incident inside or outside of the vehicle)
  • Description of what you were wearing

All FOI requests should be sent by mail to the attention of:

Freedom of Information Office
1900 Yonge Street
Toronto Ontario M4S 1Z2

We can also be reached at 416-472-2011 or email to foi@ttc.ca

FOI Process Info:

  • Staff must respond to an FOI request within 30 days of the date the request is received. If additional time beyond 30 days is required to process a request the requestor will be informed of the time extension.
  • If the requested records contain third party information, the third party will be advised of the request. The third party has 20 days to inform the TTC whether they agree or disagree with the disclosure of their information
  • Be advised that third party consent processes are subject to legislative timelines, and can take up to 60 days to complete.

Fees

All fees are based on legislative guidelines and regulations

Requests

Fee

Application $5.00
Photocopies and/or computer printouts 20¢ per page (only applied when cost is over $25.00)
Manually searching a record $7.50 per 15 minutes of search time (does not apply to requests for own personal information)
For preparing a record for disclosure, including severing a part of the record $7.50 per 15 minutes (does not apply to requests for own personal information)
Developing a computer program or other method of producing a record from machine readable record $15 per 15 minutes, if required
For records provided on DVD $10 per disk
Costs that the institution incurs in locating, retrieving, processing and copying the record if those costs are specified in an invoice that the institution has received. Video requests will include that extra cost. At cost

A fee estimate will be given if costs will equal $100.00 or more before the release of the record. The TTC will require a deposit of 50% of the estimated fee. Once a fee deposit is requested, the TTC is not required to take any further steps to respond to the request until the deposit is paid.

Appeals

The requester has the right to appeal any decisions issued in response to their request. All appeals must be made to the Information & Privacy Commission of Ontario (IPC) within 30 days of receipt of the decision letter or fee estimate.

In order to appeal the requester must provide the IPC office with the following:

  1. The request number listed at the beginning of the TTC letter;
  2. A copy of the decision letter;
  3. A copy of the original request for information which you sent to the TTC; and

The appeal fee of $10.00 (personal information) or $25.00 (general records) (cheque or money order) made payable to the Minister of Finance.

This information must be sent to the IPC office located at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8

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