TTC fare hike now in effect
Posted January 1, 2012 10:32 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The cost of riding the red rocket has gone up, with the TTC aiming to raise an extra $30 million a year.
The 10-cent hike does not affect the cash fare, which remains at $3, but the cost of tokens and passes has increased.
The cost of tokens is now $2.60 and the price of Metropasses jumped by $5 to $126 a month.
TTC chair Karen Stintz said asking riders to pay more is the only way to avoid crippling service cuts.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure we have a sustainable budget, and we’re trying to make sure that we can provide service levels that we can afford,” she said.
However, even with the fare increase, the TTC will still have to reduce service on some bus and streetcar routes.
The commission spent much time debating the hike at city council, and with the fare increase, Stintz confirmed officials were able to come up with a plan to save or delay service cuts to some of the city’s busiest bus routes.
Stintz told 680News she feels they’ve come up with a good compromise for riders.
“So we found about $5 million, so that means we can keep the service the same for January, and then starting in February, we’ll be able to keep the service on the busiest routes intact,” she said.
Stintz said the TTC overestimated the cost of diesel fuel, so they would have likely ended up with a surplus at the end of the 2012 budget.
That money will now help to keep the buses rolling on busy routes like Dufferin, Don Mills and Finch and delay cuts on other routes for a month.
TTC FARE INCREASE DETAILS:
Adult cash fares remain $3, student/senior cash fares remain at $2
Tokens: $2.50 to $2.60
Weekly pass: $36 to $37.50
Regular Metropass: $121 to $126
Senior/student tickets: $1.65 to $1.75
Child tickets: 55 cents to 60 cents
Day pass: $10 to $10.50
