Access to Information/Freedom of Information

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.

Video requests at the TTC

TTC video footage is only kept for 72 hours for subway stations, subway trains, buses, streetcars and LRT vehicles unless a preservation request is made. If you are involved in or witness an incident, contact the TTC as soon as possible so the footage can be preserved before it is deleted. Please note: Wheel-Trans video is retained for seven days.

What you need to know

• Preserving footage is not the same as releasing footage, and a formal FOI request is still required to access a copy.
• The TTC video systems are used across stations and vehicles, but availability of footage can depend on the location, timing and information provided with the request.

Contact the TTC right away

To request video preservation after an incident, please contact:

• TTC Customer Service: 416-393-3030 – 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week (except statutory holidays)
• TTC Freedom of Information Office: 416-472-2011 or FOI@ttc.ca – Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To help locate the right footage, please provide:

• Date of the incident
• Time of the incident
• 4-digit vehicle number (if the incident happened on a TTC vehicle)
• Location (for example: station name, stop, intersection, direction of travel, platform, inside/outside vehicle)
• Description of the incident

4-digit vehicle numbers

If the incident happened on a bus, streetcar, subway train or LRT vehicle, the 4-digit vehicle number helps the TTC identify the correct vehicle and preserve the right footage. These numbers are typically found on the outside of the vehicle.

4-digit numbers can also be found on the inside of TTC vehicles.

If the incident happened in a station

Please provide:

• Station name
• Specific location within the station (for example: platform, concourse, fare gate area, escalator, elevator, streetcar platform)
• Time and date
• Details of what happened

Making a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request

To access records held by the TTC, including copies of video footage, you must submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

An FOI request requires 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 a piece of government-issued ID with the request to verify your 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

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

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

You can also reach out to the TTC Freedom of Information Office at 416-472-2011 or 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