Incredible digging! Whoa...I didn't mean to doubt your word, just having it in print allows one to reference it to others. I'm still digesting this...I wish I'd known about this last year. And I'm sure others would too. Now I know why people choose VIA over GO! It's a no-brainer, schedule time besides.
Rumour has it that the new Stratford-Toronto DMU service (starting "early 2016"?!) would add trips in the peak commuting periods for Toronto workers. Combined with the existing westbound departure at 17:40 and the considerable speed advantage over GO, VIA would be such an attractive option for commuting every seat in the peak-period trains could be filled by Kitchener-Toronto commuters alone.
Maybe that's the issue. The commuter pass is such a good deal that if everyone knew about it, there would more people wanting to take the train than would fit. So people in the know end up getting a really good deal and everyone else gets a really bad deal.
That is actually pretty consistent with my experience with VIA. You can get a good deal sometimes if you really pay attention, but usually it's quite expensive.
The most extreme example I've experienced was when my ticket to Montreal cost $25 including tax, but the way back to Toronto a week later cost something like $180. The cheap ticket was a result of a half-off sale, but the expensive ticket was due to all the cheap tickets being sold out (perhaps due to said half-off sale).
<rant>
I can understand that it's in VIA's best interest to use demand-based pricing where tickets get more expensive based on how full the train is - thereby encouraging people to buy seats on less-full trains. But from what I've seen, the price difference between different trains on the same day is fairly small. I'm guessing is that it only takes a few dollars difference to sway people onto the less-used departures. So all the extreme price gradient is accomplishing is to make it unaffordable to take VIA on short notice - thereby making it less attractive and giving it a reputation of being more expensive than it actually is if you learn how to get the cheap tickets.
Case in point, the CBC article I linked at the start of this post includes the line:
"The economy fare [from Stratford to Toronto] ranges from $60 for the morning train and $52 for the night train".
Well no, actually the price varies wildly based on a bunch of factors. It just happened to be $60 and $52 on the particular day the CBC writer checked the website. I just checked the website for a random day a couple months from now, and it gave me a price of $33.90 including tax for both departures. I could not count the times that someone has told me that VIA is ridiculously expensive because they checked one time and a trip to Montreal was "like $180". Based on this one sample, they decide that VIA is unreasonably expensive and as a result they don't consider it the next time they plan a trip.
Also, what's up with promotions like Discount Tuesday? If Tuesday is a low-travel day, then I could understand putting the Tuesday trains on sale to boost ridership. But instead it's just based on when you made the booking - all trains are cheaper when you book on Tuesday. Sometimes I feel like VIA's fares are determined by some marketing person who's just trying to keep themself entertained with sales and promotions.
</rant>
There's got to be a story behind that alone.
Not a very long story. GO Transit is classified as "public transit", so it's exempt from sales tax and you can also claim it for the public transit tax deduction on your income tax. VIA is just classified as intercity transport like an airline so it doesn't get any tax benefits.
Is your name on all of the tickets? Could they be used by someone else on those other days?
From the VIA webpage linked above (emphasis added):
- The 20 one-way trip Commuter ePass can be purchased at any time, even up to 6 months in advance.
- ePass credits issued are non-transferable. Only the passenger named on the ePass may use the credit.
- A valid booking and ticket are required for travel. Standees are not permitted.
- Upon request, the passenger must present ID matching the name printed on the ticket issued with a Commuter ePass.
- Each travel credit is valid for a one-way trip on any VIA Rail train* (Unless specified otherwise on your Commuter ePasses) in Economy class in either direction between the two cities shown on the ePass or points in between.
- ePass credits will only be accepted within the 30-day validity period indicated on the ePass confirmation/receipt. The 20 one-way trip Commuter ePass is valid for a 30-day period, starting on the date determined by the customer at time of purchase.
- Passengers not in possession of a valid ticket using an ePass credit as described above will be required to purchase a ticket at the applicable fare on board the train.
- A valid rail ticket issued using the ePass credit is required.
- The Commuter ePass is refundable if it has not expired, if no trips have been made using it, and if no tickets booked with it have been cancelled after the applicable train's scheduled departure. There is a service charge of $50 plus taxes for a refund. Once it has been used, a pass cannot be refunded.
*Unless specified otherwise on your Commuter ePasses.
