toraerach
Active Member
Then wouldn't Metrolinx start loosing large amounts of money? The entire point of the fare system is that some people are disadvantaged while other people are advantaged. The goal should be to hand out the advantages in the fairest possible manner. If everyone started picking plans that benefited them, like 905ers taking a flat fare and downtowners taking a pay-by-distance fare, everyone would win. That implicitly means that Metrolinx would loose.
I'm not saying that every possible option should be available. A flat fare, for example, going from Hamilton to Oshawa would cost the system way to much to be affordable. Not all transit riders should be lumped together under one plan though. It should be flexible so that each group of transit users sees some advantage.
For example, people who need to transfer let's say from a bus in Burlington to one in Hamilton everyday could sign up for unlimited transfer between the transit systems. This would only work between Burlington and Hamilton - transfers to the other systems would still require a new fare. Adding this option to your plan would cost something - you might save something like 25% at the end of the month, hopefully less. I don't think GO would be able to function with a flat fare so that option wouldn't be offered.
Think about it like the Metropass or the discounted fare on some 905 systems when people get off GO. Sure you lose money, but the convenience attracts people.
The more people that ride transit the more people care about transit the more people vote to improve transit. I've always thought a 1% municipal sales tax would make a lot of sense when it comes to funding infrastructure.