The Toronto Transit Commission approved its 2012 budget on Friday and riders should expect decreased services and more crowding beginning in January.
Earlier this week, a report from TTC general manager Gary Webster outlined how the transit service intends to address the city's request that all departments cut their budgets by 10 per cent.
What the commission decided on Friday was to take regressive measures by reducing services.
"We are changing our service standards. There might be longer waits in some cases, there might be fuller busses," TTC chair Karen Stintz said.
But whether or not there will be fare hike has been deferred until December, when the TTC will assess whether a 10 cent fare hike will be required to keep the system on track.
"I'm not sure that we're going to be able to actually avoid a fare increase for this year, but to be far to the process, we must work through that process to see what savings there might be," Gary Webster, the TTC general manager, told CTV Toronto.
Other measures include axing approximately 251 non-unionized positions, and cutting another 171 front-line operator jobs through attrition.
Outside the TTC meeting on Friday, a group of concerned citizens gathered outside the building calling for the transit service to maintain its current service level.
Some gathered at Nathan Phillips Square on Friday were calling for provincial and federal governments to help cover transit costs, saying that it was a bad idea to cut service quality when the TTC is experiencing record ridership levels.
With a report from Scott Lightfoot and files from The Canadian Press
