TTC Fare increase being considered

[Ed Drass]

predictable fare increases?

From Steve's post:

"At a media briefing, City Manager Joseph Pennachetti ... was clear that staff at the City and TTC would prefer a clear, multi-year plan for fares so that the TTC would know what revenue they should expect."

 

[Long Island Mike]

[EDIT: direct from the source] TTC Fare increase proposal

Adult
(Current Fare, Proposed Fare)
Cash
$3.00 $3.00 (unchanged)
Token
$2.50 $2.60
Weekly Pass
$36.00 $37.25
Regular Metropass
$121.00 $126.00
VIP
$107.00 $111.25
MDP
$111.00 $115.50

Senior/Student
Cash
$2.00 $2.00 (unchanged)
Ticket
$1.65 $1.75
Weekly Pass
$28.00 $29.75
Regular Metropass
$99.00 $104.00
MDP
$89.00 $94.00

Child
Cash
$0.75 $0.75 (unchanged)
Ticket
$0.55 $0.55 (unchanged)

Day Pass
$10.00 $10.50

GTA Pass (TTC Portion)
$28.00 $29.00

Post-Secondary Student Metropass
$99.00 $104.00
[/EDIT]

From the CBC (though, every major news outlet is covering it).


What's Ford got to say on the matter?

So why the need for a face increase?


Good luck avoiding this increase, if you aren't going to increase funding.

Markster and Everyone: Interesting timing of this TTC fare increase...right after the NY MTA raised transit and commuter rail fares in the NYC region on December 30,2010...

In NYC on transit the base fare continues to be $2.25 cash or pay-per-ride Metrocard per ride but the single ride card to enter the Subway rises to $2.50...

7-day Unlimited cards are now $29 and the 30-day Unlimited now cost $104. The 1-day and 14-day Unlimited cards were discontinued.

Commuter rail fares averaged about a 10 percent increase for both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Commuter Railroad...

I feel that the timing for fare increases for city transport is troubling due to the steady rise of gasoline and other fuel prices recently...

The last thing that transit needs is a large percentage fare increase with the possible result being a drop in ridership during these recessionary times...

LI MIKE

 

[Electrify]

Ah ok. I didn't use the TTC much back then, I was living on-campus, so I didn't have much need to go off-campus, haha.

I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I would much rather have easily-breakable amounts. A cash fare of $2.75 was annoying as hell, because most of the time I ended up putting in $3 anyways when I had to catch the bus. $2.50 for tokens was much easier to break, because you put in a $10, you get 4 tokens. At $2.60, you'd get 3 tokens and $2.20 change. Great, instead of 4 coins jingling around in my pocket, I now have 7.

You can thank Giambonehead for doing everything possible to stall smartcards on the TTC.

Anyways, a lot of talk here blaming the VRF. But in fairness, didn't we have two fare increases while it was implemented? Also, I thought that money was put into general revenue, not the TTC. Also going back to my Giambonehead punching bag, the service cuts proposed are far less drastic than the ones he was proposing if he didn't get his bottle and blanket.

EDIT: These service cuts seem to be bringing service back to where it was before the VRF was implemented. Giambonehead would have cut that service down to bare bones quality if the VRF was never implemented.

 

[EnviroTO]

Anyways, a lot of talk here blaming the VRF.

The VRF is definitely to blame. If you can't blame the venerable Rob Ford who are you going to blame?

 

[GraphicMatt]

You can thank Giambonehead for doing everything possible to stall smartcards on the TTC.

Anyways, a lot of talk here blaming the VRF. But in fairness, didn't we have two fare increases while it was implemented? Also, I thought that money was put into general revenue, not the TTC. Also going back to my Giambonehead punching bag, the service cuts proposed are far less drastic than the ones he was proposing if he didn't get his bottle and blanket.

EDIT: These service cuts seem to be bringing service back to where it was before the VRF was implemented. Giambonehead would have cut that service down to bare bones quality if the VRF was never implemented.

Yes, because PRESTO was totally ready to be rolled out across the TTC. It was just Giambroner who got in the way.

Fare increases are an inevitability, but this one isn't to forestall cuts or improve service. Rather it comes WITH service cuts. This year was also probably the easiest budget year in modern memory - there's little external budgetary pressure that necessitates a fare increase. It's happening (or proposed to happen, as I still doubt it will) because the mayor does not put priority on transit.

 

[jeffreym]

It's happening (or proposed to happen, as I still doubt it will) because the mayor does not put priority on transit.

Exactly. Quote from Torontoist:

"We can't get to zero property taxes without the [TTC] fare increase."

—City manager Joe Pennachetti,

 

[junctionist]

This move, coupled with the cut of the vehicle registration tax, is blatantly anti-transit. It makes it a lot less desirable to use the system. It targets the poor for the benefit of the relatively affluent driver.

There is no budget crisis, yet any achievement of the previous administration that's reversible is being reversed. With the loss of tax revenue, we'll probably be looking at new crises in the coming years on top of the reversals.

 

[Dilla]

http://www.thestar.com/article/919782--ttc-fare-hike-off-as-city-comes-up-with-the-money?bn=1


TTC fare hike off as city comes up with the money

Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
It looks like it may have been a false alarm and a 10-cent TTC fare hike proposed for Feb. 1 may not happen after all.

TTC chair Karen Stintz has summoned reporters to her office at City Hall at 2 p.m. where she’s expected to announce that the city has found the $24 million the fare increase would have raised.

A note from Stintz’s office said the city councillor wouldn’t be available prior to 2p.m.

But another transit commissioner suggested that there’s “no appetite among councillors to engage in a public free-for-all pitting transit riders against drivers in our city.”

“Budgetary losses (resulting in part from the recently-abolished $60 Vehicle Registration Tax) should not be found from another tax hike at the expense of transit users,” said city councillor Maria Augimeri.

The proposed TTC fare hike of $5 a month on Metropasses would cost transit riders $60 a year.

When Mayor Rob Ford announced his proposed Toronto operating budget on Monday, he said he wasn’t happy about the fare increase. Stintz echoed his displeasure. Both vowed they would do everything possible to avoid the price increase.

But city manager Joe Penachetti said staff could see no other way to balance the city budget while ensuring the TTC had the money it needs to operate.

In addition to raising fares, the TTC is proposing to cut late-night, off-peak and weekend service on 48 bus routes it says average 12 or less riders per hour.

 

[Jonny5]

TTC chair Karen Stintz has summoned reporters to her office at City Hall at 2 p.m. where she’s expected to announce that the city has found the $24 million the fare increase would have raised.

It turns out the money was stuffed in the back of a cupboard nobody had looked in for a few years.
It was in a big sack with a dollar sign on the front.
It's expected at the news conference Stinz will open the sack and throw the money in the air while laughing.

 

[gweed123]

It turns out the money was stuffed in the back of a cupboard nobody had looked in for a few years.
It was in a big sack with a dollar sign on the front.
It's expected at the news conference Stinz will open the sack and throw the money in the air while laughing.

I suspect it was in the same cupboard where they normally keep the gravy...

 

[Filip]

I would say this is one of the main differences between the Miller vs Ford regime.

Miller would simply slap an increase (in fact his terms had the most increases in TTC history), while Ford and friends will try their darn hardest to avoid it.

 

[Electrify]

This move, coupled with the cut of the vehicle registration tax, is blatantly anti-transit. It makes it a lot less desirable to use the system. It targets the poor for the benefit of the relatively affluent driver.

There is no budget crisis, yet any achievement of the previous administration that's reversible is being reversed. With the loss of tax revenue, we'll probably be looking at new crises in the coming years on top of the reversals.

Seeing as the fare hike may not occur, what I'm about to say may be irrelevant, but whatever.

Let's just assume that the VRF was the only thing keeping fares down and service quality high. Couldn't the city replace this revenue with a property tax increase - like every other municipality in the province?

Besides, it is illogical to assume that drivers and transit users are mutually exclusive. I'm willing to bet that a fair percentage of TTC users have access to an alternative mode of transport, including a car but also a bike, scooter, etc. Likewise it is also illogical to assume that only rich people drive and only poor people take transit. Car ownership is higher in the suburbs, where incomes are in fact lower.

 

[Electrify]

And with the federal transit tax credit, the metropass multiple (metropass price/token price) is lower than it has ever been before 2006. TTC wants to increase metropass price to turn that crazy tax credit into what it should have been in the first place - a federal operating grant for public transit agencies.

Meanwhile, 99.9% of all other transit systems in Canada continue to have monthly passes cost approximately the same as 40 rides, PLUS have further discounts from the tax rebate. How dare they try to encourage ridership by having a sensible and convenient fare structure, public transit is a business! Think of all the $$$ the TTC makes from people using tokens to go a short distance, people not using their passes 50-60 times per month, or people who expect to use 40 tokens but unexpectedly use far more!

 

[Dilla]

I would say this is one of the main differences between the Miller vs Ford regime.

Miller would simply slap an increase (in fact his terms had the most increases in TTC history), while Ford and friends will try their darn hardest to avoid it.

Oh, please. They didn't try to avoid saying "we don't have the money" to then say only days later "oh, wait, found it".

Don't you get it, they didn't have to try "their darnedest" to avoid and increase, there was never going to be an increase, this is all smoke and mirrors.

 

[Filip]

Oh, please. They didn't try to avoid saying "we don't have the money" to then say only days later "oh, wait, found it".

Don't you get it, they didn't have to try "their darnedest" to avoid and increase, there was never going to be an increase, this is all smoke and mirrors.

Like closing the Sheppard subway and then hitting us with annual increases? I think I prefer the Ford approach.