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GTHA Transit Fare Integration

Plain & Simply, Del Duca is a dope.

So what after 2 years, everyones fares (assuming one took Del Duca at face value, which no one does) will be jacked up again? Which leads us back to the point of what's the point of this idiotic policy asides from vote buying?

This guy is completely out of touch and it shows. Completely useless politician who makes me irate everytime i see his face, let alone hear his voice. I dont know how the Liberals keep choosing the worst candidate for leader time, and time again (the PCs arent better at picking leaders either for the record).
 
You can certainly make the argument that transit fares are a bit high in this region in relation to comparable metros. However, I don't think we needed to go to the lowest fares either. And throwing Ontario Northland and GO Transit into the mix is pretty non-sensical due to the vast distances. They'd have been petter promising something like this...
  • Reducing all fares in the province by 25%
  • Bringing Toronto (TTC) into the GO co-fare plan that the 905 enjoys.
  • Add some significant transit expansion, beyond Doug's plan, to some Ontario metros (e.g., Line 5 to Pearson, Line 4 east, OL to Sheppard, etc.)
 
Undead said:
I'm glad transit is not a partisan issue any longer. The next step is getting rid of the politics around mode/technology choice.
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At least they are fighting over who is going to do more to improve transit. There's almost an embarrassment of riches in what's started construction since 2008. If anything things only accelerated and increased with the two governments that followed McGuinty.
 
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The present government is focused on what gets them votes (which government isn’t). Last election cycle it was transit, and this time - because transit ridership still hasn’t recovered, and the 905 is driving central - it’s highways. I do hope we can get to a point where transit building/funding is solidly non-partisan.

It would have been nice to see serious progress on fate integration, and at least a signature transit project like the EELRT.

EDIT: And I hope that GO Expansion actually gets fully funded post design phase.
 
p_xavier said:
Bogus election promises that won't be fulfilled for 100$.
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It's actually pretty affordable, particularly since fare subsidy is way way up and fare-box revenue is way down. There are better ways to spend it but it's not less affordable than making Eglinton West underground rather than elevated.
 
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rbt said:
It's actually pretty affordable, particularly since fare subsidy is way way up and fare-box revenue is way down. There are better ways to spend it but it's not less affordable than making Eglinton West underground rather than elevated.
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It'll likely cost $3+B per year (I don't believe the 1.1B number for even a second), likely more than the difference in cost between an elevated and buried Eglinton West. With that money you can run busses at 5-10 minute headways on all arterials in the 905, plus some money left over for a few BRTs.
 
Remember also that this stupid $1 fare crap would not only effect the GTA but also the entire province making it vastly more expensive.

A far better idea is to increase funding for the existing systems, provide full fare integration across the whole province so your monthly pass you bought in Sudbury is also good in Toronto, London or Windsor which would greatly entice people to take inner-city trains as opposed to driving, and offer targeted free transit to those who need it.

Of course this is nothing more than a political ploy by a desperate politician and so "A buck a fare" sounds so much more catchy than providing a true plan to create a more seamless, functional, and equitable fare system that actually requires some thought and not just a flashy headline.
 
ARG1 said:
It'll likely cost $3+B per year (I don't believe the 1.1B number for even a second), likely more than the difference in cost between an elevated and buried Eglinton West. With that money you can run busses at 5-10 minute headways on all arterials in the 905, plus some money left over for a few BRTs.
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Sure. They're already sending out around $1.5B in operating subsidies today to cover for lost covid revenue. An additional $1.1B/year gets pretty close to your expected annual total subsidy. I presume municipalities will also be expected to maintain their current (covid-level) contributions.

I don't think the Liberals have much of a hope of wining a majority, so this is entirely a theoretical exercise anyway.
 
ssiguy2 said:
Remember also that this stupid $1 fare crap would not only effect the GTA but also the entire province making it vastly more expensive.

A far better idea is to increase funding for the existing systems, provide full fare integration across the whole province so your monthly pass you bought in Sudbury is also good in Toronto, London or Windsor which would greatly entice people to take inner-city trains as opposed to driving, and offer targeted free transit to those who need it.

Of course this is nothing more than a political ploy by a desperate politician and so "A buck a fare" sounds so much more catchy than providing a true plan to create a more seamless, functional, and equitable fare system that actually requires some thought and not just a flashy headline.
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Assume you mean 'inter-city trains'.

If trains, that are under Ontario government control, existed between Sudbury and anywhere else it might mean something. I'm guessing the folks using urban transit in Thunder Bay , Owen Sound or Kenora don't really care. The 'all of Ontario' part was tossed out by a party strategist so it didn't sound like just a Toronto-centric goodie.
 
Presumably a government that can afford to take up the slack in farebox revenue to the turn of a one dollar flat fare would also absorb the cost of free transfers between systems. That pretty much makes fare integration moot.

The silver lining would be, that would pretty much make all the complicated fare tables and calculations in Presto space irrelevant. One would think that the cost of running Presto would decline dramatically. And any other basic touchless payment system would be just as effective, so maybe Presto could be abandoned altogether.

It's a fantasy scenario, nothing more.

- Paul
 
Interesting report from Brampton Transit.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1542215546594365443

Report: https://pub-brampton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=56923

More interestingly there's an update on fare integration. MTO and Metrolinx are apparently working on an initial business case for a regional fare structure currently and there's three options on the books.

1656633352041.png
 
Allandale25 said:
Latest media article on fare integration.

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"Despite those benefits, the plan doesn't have the support of the union representing TTC workers.

" ATU Local 113 said it would "threaten the integrity" of Toronto's transit system and "provide the TTC with a convenient excuse to cut TTC routes and outsource service to other transit agencies."

TTC is held back in some regards by the union.
 
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