TTC votes to stop selling discounted passes to part-time students
Posted March 2, 2011 8:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Transit Commission has voted to stop selling discounted passes to part-time students.
The TTC made the decision at a meeting on Tuesday, saying the move would save them $1.4 million.
“It’s absolutely unfair because the TTC, first of all, has not taken enough time to do research to analyze the socio-economic realities of part-time students,” Krisna Saravanamuttu, president of the York Federation of Students, told CityNews.
Saravanamuttu also serves on the TTC advisory panel.
“Tuition fees have sky-rocketed and a lot of students are forced to take on part-time studies to circumvent that financial burden,” he added.
A regular pass costs $121, while students pay $99.
“The TTC now conforms to every other transit body on the continent. Toronto was the odd one out by providing this benefit to part-time students,” said councillor John Parker, who sits on the TTC commission.
“It’s nothing to be happy about but the expenses of the TTC are real. This was a subsidy that we couldn’t carry on any further,” Parker said.
Full-time post-secondary students will still receive the discounted rate. The decision will go into effect in September.