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We say yes to the low-income pass, but will the city?

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] Thanks to all your emails, calls, and deputations last week, the City Executive approved the plan to provide low income TTC passes to riders. This is huge! One hurdle down, another
to go. Now this Tuesday July 8 the entire City Council gets to decide whether we move forward on the plan to give low-income riders some fare relief.

Take action

  • Send an email to all city councillors asking them to say yes to coming up with a plan to provide low-income TTC passes to riders.
  • Phone your City Councillor and ask them to say yes to coming up with a plan to provide a low income TTC pass. Call 311 and they will direct you to your councillor.
  • Tweet your City Councillor saying why you want a low income TTC pass. Include @ttcriders and #TTC in your tweet, and share a picture of yourself with a sign that says "I support a low income TTC pass because ... (fill in your answer).  Find your councillors’ twitter handles here.  Sample photo below.  Make sure to send the photo to us at [email protected] so we can share them in a surprise event we're planning.
  • Come down to City Hall at 5pm on Tuesday July 8 to stand with fellow TTCriders.   Contact Jenn for information [email protected].

use

More information

Read about the motion on the City Council's website. Read about what other cities are doing to make transit more affordable. 

Sample email to send to councillors

A member of TTCriders, Helen, often speaks of her friend, a senior with cancer, who daily has to make the painful choice of either buying food or buying TTC tokens to visit her friends because she doesn’t have the money to do both. Those kinds of tough choices are being made by Torontonians every day because transit costs so much. I encourage you to say yes to the city motion that will be before on Tuesday July 8 to develop a plan to offer low income TTC passes so more Torontonians can afford to take public transit.  This motion is called "EX43.18 Toward a Policy Framework for Toronto Transit Fare Equity"  I encourage you to be inclusive in deciding who is eligible for a low-income pass.  At a minimum it should include ODSB and OW recipients and all those living below the low-income cut off, including the unemployed.  Precarious work is on the rise. Wages are stagnant. Yet fares have been rising faster than inflation for years.  Low income transit riders in your riding need and welcome some pocket book relief. I am also calling on you to find new money to fund this low-income pass; don’t cut service or make other users pay.  The TTC is already very efficient, getting the least amount of government support per ride than any other big transit system in North America.  We need to move beyond the false 'fare versus services' debate to a lower fares and great service solution. That’s why we need more government support for transit.  Everyone benefits when we lower fares and increase service, including drivers who experience congestion relief. We look forward to hearing your response, Thank you.

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