Ontario government set to begin discounted TTC, GO Transit co-fares in 2024

After years of discussions, there finally appears to be relief on the way for TTC passengers who connect with GO Transit trains and buses as the Ontario government is set to introduce discounted fares.

Todd McCarthy, the MPP for Durham who was named Ontario’s associate transportation minister during a cabinet shuffle earlier in September, confirmed planning is underway to bring in a new TTC and GO Transit co-fare policy sometime in February.

“This will save the average individual commuter about $1,500 per year. That’s a very, very important savings for our fellow citizens and this is true for Durham and of course across the GTA,” he told reporters on Wednesday during an unrelated announcement about the completion of construction at two Scarborough GO Transit stations.

“That fare integration is part of our plan going forward in the very near future. We’re just on target, five months away, in February 2024.”

RELATED: Ontario scrapping local transit fares for most GO Transit riders, but TTC not included

Currently in Toronto, passengers who begin or end their trip using the TTC have to pay the full fare ($3.30 if using a Presto, debit or credit card) plus the full GO Transit fare.

For residents who take GO Transit and local transit services in Barrie, York Region, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Durham Region, Milton, Guelph, Cambridge-Kitchener-Waterloo, Milton, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton and Burlington, they receive a discount and don’t have to pay the local transit fare.

Discounted fares of $1.50 for the TTC ended in March 2020 after the previous Liberal government put in place a three-year pilot project in 2018.

The Ford government opted against renewing the program, but provincial officials said over the past couple of years that negotiations on co-fares between the City of Toronto and the government were occurring.