TTC to consider 10-cent fare increase
Posted November 17, 2016 12:29 pm.
Last Updated November 17, 2016 7:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Transit Commission will consider a 10-cent fare increase at its board meeting on Monday.
Only adult cash fares would remain the same, at $3.25. The cost of a Metropass, tokens, adult tickets, and cash fares for student and seniors, would all increase.
Fares already went up in January of this year, and have increased for the past five years.
Click here to have your say at the TTC online customer town hall starting at 6:30 p.m.
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That’s six years too many, said Jessica Bell of TTCriders.
“John Tory’s TTC budget is going to hurt riders and send our transit system on a race to the bottom,” Bell said in a statement on Thursday.
“When you cut service and hike fares riders leave, and that’s only going to make the TTC’s budget crisis even worse.”
Bell is calling for more funding from the provincial government to address the shortfall.
The TTC, like all city departments, was asked to reduce its budget by 2.6 per cent.
The TTC said it was initially dealing with a projected $231-million shortfall. With the 10-cent fare increase, alongside other cuts, the budget shortfall would drop to $61 million.
The fare hike is expected to generate $28.7 million ($27 million coming from PRESTO fees), but it comes with a cost. The TTC estimates ridership will drop by 1.2 million.
In a statement released Thursday, Mayor John Tory said the budget cuts were necessary – even though the TTC is “vital” to the city.
“Every day, millions of people rely on our city’s transit system. The TTC is vital to people’s daily commute, to our economy and our success as a city,” Tory said in a statement.
“We still have to make sure we’re spending money wisely in the best interest of the people of Toronto. That’s why our budget process and the 2.6 per cent in efficiencies we’ve asked each division and agency to bring forward is necessary, even as we invest in the services our residents need.”
Tory said he is working on a long-term solution that would allow for transit expansion.
Josh Colle, the TTC chair, said that the TTC budget has increased every year he has been chair. The subsidy budget rose from $440 million in 2014 to $495 million this year, Colle said in statement. The overall operating budget rose to $1.86 billion from $1.7 billion in 2014.
“At the end of the day, the city will spend more on transit this coming year than it did in 2016. But we know it’s not enough,” he said.
