Feeling tapped out?
It’s not just you - Toronto transit fares are among the highest in Canada, and spending up to $156 at the start of the month for a monthly TTC pass. But there's good news! The TTC wants to implement fare capping in the 2026 budget to make transit more affordable for everyone - but it won't be approved unless transit riders speak up for fare capping.
What is fare capping?
Fare capping allows transit riders to ride free after a certain number of rides are taken in a day, week, or month, without paying the expensive upfront costs of a monthly transit pass. For example, if you paid for three trips on transit in one day, any further trips you take on that day could be free. The TTC is considering a fare cap of 40 trips per month, equivalent to $132 in adult fares. If implemented, this means any transit users can take transit for free after reaching the monthly fare cap, without needing to pay for the upfront costs of a monthly pass.
| Fare Type | Monthly Fare Cap | Monthly Pass Cost |
| Adult | $132 | $156 |
| Youth | $94 | - |
| Senior | $90 | - |
| Fair Pass | $80 | $123.25 |
Fairer fares for low-income transit riders
Do you use the TTC’s low-income discount, the Fair Pass? Fair Pass users need to take 59 trips in a month to break even on a $129 low-income monthly pass. Yet, in 2022, the average person using the Fair Pass only took 9 trips per month on the TTC.
With fare capping, transit riders on a low-income discount won’t have to pay up front for an expensive monthly pass, and could save more money while taking transit.
Fare capping in other cities
Fare capping has already been implemented in many other cities, including New York City, Edmonton, Portland, Melbourne, Los Angeles and London. In Portland, transit riders ride for free after spending $5.60 per day, and $100 per month on transit fares.
Fare capping already exists in the Greater Toronto Area as well - Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, Durham Region and York Region have all adopted some form of fare capping. Durham Region Transit has a monthly transit cap of $129, for example. In Hamilton, you can ride transit for free for the rest of the week after paying $29 or 11 trips.
See some of examples of fare capping in Canada:
| City | Monthly pass/cap | Single fare cost | Ride free after... |
| York Region Transit | $160.00 | $4.00 | 40 trips |
| York Region Transit (Low-income) | $80.00 | $2.00 | 40 trips |
| Durham Region Transit | $129.60 | $3.60 | 36 trips |
| Durham Region Transit (Low-income) | $50.40 | $3.60 | 14 trips |
| Edmonton | $100.00 | $2.75 | 36 trips |
Daily fare capping:
| Edmonton | $10.25 | $2.75 | 4 taps |
Weekly fare capping:
| Hamilton | $29.70 | $2.70 | 11 taps |
Add your name to help bring fare capping to Toronto as well!