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The Province needs to pay its fair share
The TTC is the least-subsidized major transit system in North America. Facing $1.1 billion in provincial funding cuts over the next ten years, the TTC cannot take over from the province to subsidize the co-fare for GO-TTC trips. The provincial government used to contribute 50% of the TTC’s operating subsidy. The Province needs to reverse the GO-TTC cuts, and should go further by funding 50% of transit operating subsidies across Ontario.
York University double-whammy
In January 2019, GO Buses stopped coming to the York University Keele Campus and now terminate at the 407 Station. York staff and students now have longer commutes and a double fare. The GO-TTC co-fare is an important discount for these transit riders that must continue. Read more at yuride.ca.
About the co-fare discount
The discount double fare was introduced in January 2018. It provides a $1.50 discount to riders transferring between GO and TTC who use Presto cards. The subsidy program costs the provincial government $22.4-million a year. Between 2017 and 2018, GO-TTC transfers increased by 27%.
Fair fare integration
The province should continue funding the TTC-GO co-fare, and go even further. If the province contributed more funding, transit users in Toronto could ride GO, TTC, and the Union Pearson Express for one single fare.
A good first step towards fare integration would be provincial funding of 2-hour fares between the TTC and 905 transit agencies. Other transit agencies in the GTA already honour 2-hour fare transfers between transit agencies.
$1.1 billion in TTC cuts over the next 10 years
In April 2019, the province rolled back its promise to double transit funding to more than 100 municipalities across Ontario. The TTC would have seen an additional $1.1 over a ten-year period.
The TTC had already allocated $525 million of the promised funding towards important system maintenance. The TTC needs $21 billion over the next 15 years to complete maintenance work and to purchase enough buses and streetcars to keep up current service levels.
Sources:
https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2019/07/ontario-government-halting-subsidized-transit-co-fares
http://www.ttcriders.ca/provincial-funding-cuts-jeopardize-ttc-accessibility/
Read our letter in support of bus-only lanes and other transit priority measures on Queens Quay East, Parliament Street and Front Street West to ensure thousands of residents along growing waterfront communities and students attending George Brown College have reliable bus service.
(Toronto, Ontario) – Transit and environmental groups across Canada are celebrating a commitment by Liberal leadership candidate Frank Baylis to increase the Canada Public Transit Fund. Federal Liberal Party leadership candidates were surveyed about their transit commitments by Environmental Defence, TTCriders, Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, Trajectoire Québec, Activate Transit Windsor Essex, and Équiterre.