The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) on Friday announced an end to free Wi-Fi availability on subway platforms as of Dec. 27.
Transit officials said the Wi-Fi service, called TConnect, would be discontinued as the TTC “moves away from an old, unreliable network and toward more reliable and secure connectivity options for customers.”
Usage of TConnect has been in decline with less than three per cent of customers logging in to use the Wi-Fi at any time, the TTC reported.
The commission said the decision to end the service was made amid concerns of poor performance, cybersecurity risks and increasing costs to maintain the Wi-Fi.
The service will be decommissioned while the TTC continues to work with Rogers on building out 5G cellular service in subway tunnels.
Some, however, have argued the TTC’s announcement about ending the TConnect service will disproportionately affect some Torontonians who use the subway system.
“Public Wi-Fi is a safety and accessibility need,” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen, executive director of the advocacy group TTCriders.
Pizey-Allen said Torontonians who are low-income likely do not have expensive phone data plans and will need the TTC’s public Wi-Fi to send a message, get directions or even use the commission’s own safe TTC app.
“Just because the numbers [of TConnect Wi-Fi users] have gone down, that reflects how bad the system is and how it needs to be upgraded, but also that there is a continued need for it,” she told TorontoToday.
In November, TTCriders complained to Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner about an alleged conflict of interest related to a member of the Toronto Transit Commission and Rogers.
The complaint came after the TTC board voted down a proposal to receive more information about a contract and cost estimate provided by Rogers regarding the maintenance of free Wi-Fi in subway stations.
“Julie Osborne, one of the TTC Board members who voted against asking Rogers for information, worked at Rogers in senior roles for 13 years, including lobbying work at the federal level,” Pizey-Allen said at the time.
She said TTCriders launched the complaint because it is against City of Toronto rules for TTC board members to vote on issues where there is a “real or perceived conflict of interest.”
As it stands, the TConnect Wi-Fi, which was launched in 2013, does not extend into the subway tunnels.
A pilot project is also underway to provide free Wi-Fi at static locations like bus bays and platforms.
An update report about the pilot project will be presented to the TTC Board early next year, after the TConnect service has already been discontinued.
