It appears a posh new rail service opening next year, connecting Union
Station and Pearson International Airport, is meant mainly for tourists
and the business class. Consider it the Cadillac of public transit. But
that doesn’t mean airport workers should be left behind due to high
prices.
Metrolinx, the provincial agency that will run the line, is to release
its fare structure on Thursday. And the cost of a one-way ride is
expected to be somewhere between $20 and $30. That’s obviously too much
for daily commuters. A discount fare is envisioned, but a meeting with
Metrolinx officials
ended last week with airport workers expressing disappointment.
It’s not at all clear that a truly practical fare for employees is in
the works. Rides on theUnion Pearson Express
will likely be so expensive that even a 50-per-cent price cut may render
travel beyond the reach of the working class.
People going to the airport to earn their daily bread deserve a fare
geared to their needs. That means it shouldn’t be too much more than
current Toronto Transit Commission fares.
This needn’t pose an excessive burden on Metrolinx. The Star’s Tess
Kalinowski reports that agency’s own estimates indicate only about 3,500
airport employees live within the new rail line’s catchment area (out of
a total of 40,000 staff). And only about 1,400 of them are interested in
using the service. It shouldn’t cost too much to give these workers a
break.