Several major employers, including the City of Toronto, want to keep employees working from home, at least until the fall.
That's in an effort to keep pressure off the TTC and Metrolinx as the economy begins to reopen. Part of that reprieve plan for public transit, includes ActiveTO. That aims to build up the city's bike network.
The City also strongly recommending people who must use transit to wear face coverings.
The new Toronto Office of Recovery and Rebuild has been reaching out to finance and insurance companies, universities and colleges, and other large employers to ask them to keep their workers remote if possible. If not possible, employers are asked to return workers in a gradual way.
"Finance and insurance employees account for approximately 12 per cent of all public transit commuters in Toronto – more than 57,000 use transit as their main mode of commuting," the City says. "Over half of students at Toronto’s universities and colleges also commute by transit including to downtown campuses."
“We are doing everything we can as a municipal government with the help of businesses, institutions, and non-profits to help residents and businesses get through this pandemic and the restart and recovery of our economy," Mayor John Tory says. "As Toronto reopens more businesses, it is critical that we follow public health guidelines and return employees to the workplace in safe and manageable ways. Asking banks and other major employers in the downtown core to wait until at least September to begin returning the majority of their employees to work will help alleviate pressure on public transit and allow physical distancing to be maintained. As one of the major employers in the downtown core, the City of Toronto will also continue to prioritize working remotely.”