Metrolinx ponders distance-based transit fares for all passengers in the Toronto region
Fare integration proposal would see passengers on TTC and other GTHA transit systems charged a per kilometre rate.
Thestar.com
Feb. 14, 2017
By Ben Spurr
How much should it cost to ride the TTC? According to a new policy under consideration by the province’s regional transit agency, it should depend on how far you travel.
Metrolinx, the provincial organization that oversees transit for the GTHA, is considering a fare model for the area’s transit operators that would see all passengers on buses, streetcars, subways, and GO Transit pay by distance.
A report on the issue will be discussed at Friday’s Metrolinx board meeting, as part of its ongoing fare integration project that aims to standardize the pricing policies of GO and the region’s nine municipal transit agencies.
The fare-by-distance model was made public Tuesday, and joins three other proposals that were already under consideration.
“It would be system-wide and be a very major dramatic change,” said Leslie Woo, chief planning officer for Metrolinx, “but it would enable greater consistency in fares (across the region) and it would better reflect the cost of the length of the trip.”
Woo said more work needs to be done to determine which model is best.
The three original options are: a modified version of the status quo that would provide discounts for riders crossing between the TTC and GO; a zone-based system that would charge riders more for crossing defined boundaries; and a hybrid that would have a flat rate for local bus travel but charge by distance or zone for subways and regional rail.
While two of the previous options included some form of distance-based charge, the new proposal would charge all riders a per kilometre rate. Similar systems are used in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Netherlands.
The dollar value of the per kilometre charge hasn’t been determined, but Woo said it could vary depending on the transit agency, and whether passengers were travelling by bus, subway, or regional rail.
Like the other options, the fare-by-distance proposal is dependent on the full implementation of the Presto fare card system across the TTC and the other transit agencies in the region.
The TTC currently charges a flat rate for trips of any distance, which agency leaders have frequently described as a major selling point for Toronto’s transit system.
In an email, TTC spokesperson Brad Ross acknowledged that there would be some advantages to switching to fare-by-distance, but that the existing structure is very user friendly.
“One of the benefits to customers is that they know how much a ride is going to cost them before they travel,” he said. “Another is that no matter how far you travel you pay the same fare.”
Asked Tuesday about Metrolinx’s latest proposal, Mayor John Tory said it was too early to endorse any fare model. But he said that the current GO price structure is “unfair” for people travelling within Toronto and “should be fixed.”
GO currently charges a high base fare plus a distance component. According to a 2016 city report, that discourages trips on the GO network within Toronto by making short journeys too expensive. Passengers coming from outside the city to Union Station pay much less per kilometre than passengers who board within the city limits.
A per kilometre charge would likely render short trips within Toronto cheaper by comparison. That would be critical for attracting riders to Tory’s SmartTrack rail plan, which is being implemented on GO lines within Toronto.
Metrolinx is expected to finish preparing its business case for fare integration in the third quarter of 2017. There is no timetable for when a new fare model will be put in place.
