Action: Lower fares vote on Thursday

Can you send a letter to the Executive Committee today and urge them to support deeper transit discounts rolled out faster? Scroll down to the sample letter below and personalize it with your own story of why affordable transit matters.

[Image: Fair Pass rally in Fall 2016]

The Fair Pass was approved in December 2016, and is being phased in. Currently, eligible people who receive Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, or a Toronto Child Care Fee Subsidy can apply to pay $2.05 for a single TTC ride or $119.40 for a monthly TTC pass. Learn more about the program and how to apply here.  

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Action Plan recommends implementing the Fair Pass, but full funding is not guaranteed. People who receive housing subsidies and earn low incomes** cannot afford to wait years for a discount.

**If fully implemented, the Fair Pass will be available for all people earning less than the Low Income Measure plus 15%. For a single person, that means earning $27,040 or less, after tax. For a household of two, that means earning $38,240 or less, after tax. 

After November 30, the TTC will stop selling tokens and seniors tickets. Please keep reading for what to include in your letter about this issue. You can also read and share this important column by Toronto Drop-In Network manager Susan Bender. 

SAMPLE EMAIL

Dear Executive Committee and Mayor John Tory,

I am writing to ask you to approve EX10.1. I am pleased that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Action Plan recommends implementing the Fair Pass TTC discount program. I encourage you to support all of the transit equity recommendations on Lists A, B, and C.

But the Fair Pass is not yet fully funded. And 27% of eligible Fair Pass users cannot afford the current cost of $119.40 passes and $2.05 fares. 

I urge you to fully fund the Fair Pass immediately, and deepen the discount as soon as possible. I support free TTC for people who receive social assistance, and $50 passes and $1 fares for people earning low incomes. 

Other cities in Canada provide deeper discounts: Hamilton and Calgary are already providing a $55 Low Income Pass. Toronto can do better. 

I am deeply disturbed that the TTC will stop selling tokens and seniors tickets as of November 30, 2019, without an adequate replacement and distribution network in place. The TTC must continue selling tokens and tickets until there is adequate access to Presto tickets and loading machines across the city, not only at Shoppers Drug Mart and subway stations (recommendation 6.2.1), and until there is a solution for agencies and community organizations (recommendation 6.2.3). 

Thank you,

YOUR NAME / YOUR ORGANIZATION YOUR ADDRESS AND POSTAL CODE

KEY POINTS TO ADD TO YOUR LETTER:

• I currently qualify for the Fair Pass (receiving OW, ODSP, or Child Care Fee Subsidy) but have not applied because of these barriers: _______________.
• I have the Fair Pass, but it is still too expensive for me.
• I work with people who qualify for the Fair Pass, but they experience these barriers to applying for the program: _______________. 
• I cannot wait any longer to receive the Fair Pass discount. I am supposed to qualify for the Fair Pass when it is fully implemented (receiving a housing subsidy and/or earning less than $27,000 per year for a single person / $38,000 for a two-person household).
• As of December 2018, 41% of people receiving Ontario Works and 26% of people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program had not yet used their Fair Pass card. I urge you to deepen the Fair Pass discount and implement the six considerations in the Fair Pass evaluation report so that everyone who qualifies can use the card.
• The Fair Pass has had positive impacts on peoples’ lives and must be fully implemented as soon as possible. Fair Pass users are better able to attend work (72% post vs. 36% pre-discount); visit family/friends (72% post vs. 34% pre-discount), and attend medical appointments (84% post vs. 50% pre-discount). But not everyone who qualifies for the Pass is benefiting, because the cost is still out of reach. 
• When people were asked why they had not used the Fair Pass card, the main reasons cited were because “they did not know how to use it (33%); they were not sure where to load money on it (27%); or because they could not afford to use it (27%).”   
• The Fair Pass Phase 1 Evaluation Report documents the barriers that people experience when applying for and using the discount cards. I urge you to implement all six considerations in the report so that everyone who qualifies can access the program. 
• With the TTC expected to recommend a fare increase in 2020, City Council must move quickly to implement the Fair Pass as soon as possible for all eligible people, and introduce deeper discounts.
• It is unacceptable for the TTC to stop selling tickets and tokens before there is an adequate distribution network for Presto tickets. Recommendations 6.2.1 and 6.2.3 of the Action Plan must be implemented before the TTC stops selling tokens and tickets. 
• I commend you for prioritizing improvement of transit service in the inner suburbs in the Action Plan.  However, the equity lens applied to these neighbourhoods should be based on the latest research conducted by social policy expert John Stapleton, which shows neighbourhoods in northern Scarborough also need to be designated Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. 

Transit Fare Equity Program: Phase 1 Evaluation Report: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-139482.pdf

2019-2022 Poverty Reduction Strategy Work Plan: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-139481.pdf

2019-2022 Poverty Reduction Strategy Action Plan: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-139480.pdf

Hamilton low income transit discount: https://www.hamilton.ca/social-services/support-programs/affordable-transit-pass-program

Calgary low income transit discount: https://www.calgarytransit.com/fares-passes/passes/low-income-monthly-pass