No extra charge for riders with strollers, TTC says

TORONTO, Ont. – TTC CEO Andy Byford said the transit agency will not consider an extra charge for riders who bring a stroller on to a TTC vehicle.

“We have no plans whatsoever to charge for strollers,” Byford said. “I think that would be wrong.”

“At the end of the day, a lot of parents use the TTC maybe because they rely on it. They don’t have a car. The TTC is there for everyone.”

“Parents with strollers are perfectly entitled to use the TTC. We want them to,” Byford said. “We just ask everyone to work together — our customers, our operators — to have a sensible use of discretion to keep the TTC safe and to keep it accessible.”

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Your reaction: No extra fare for strollers on transit: TTC

The TTC board requested a review on whether the transit agency needs guidelines after a rider said that strollers can be an obstruction on transit.

Rider Elsa La Rosa told the TTC Monday that the agency should consider a stroller-limit during rush hour or slap an extra charge on riders who bring strollers on to a TTC vehicle.

“I think some important points were brought up about the congestion sometimes that strollers can cause,” Byford said.

“So, we are going to have a look at that. But I want that to be sensible review. At the end of the day, the TTC is there for everyone and it is my job to provide that.”

TTC chair Karen Stintz took to Twitter Tuesday and said she is not in favour of charging riders extra to bring strollers on a TTC vehicle.

Many TTC riders 680News spoke with were not on board with the idea of a stroller-limit or extra charge.

“They do take up space. But I don’t think you should deny a mother’s right to have her child on public transit,” a woman said.

“What are moms going to do, right?” A man said.

One woman said that riders can be more aware of where the stroller is placed.

“The only thing the driver can do or that people can do is try not to put them in people’s way.”

“I just think there has to be some cooperation, that’s all. That’s the point of public transit,” another woman said.

Stintz said new, larger TTC vehicles may solve the congestion.

Byford said the transit agency is considering larger buses. This year, there are 27 articulated buses on order and 204 streetcars will hit the streets in 2014.

[View the story “No extra fare for strollers on transit: TTC” on Storify]

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