Riders are left in the dust of their missed busses while TTC prices rise

Jodie Vanderslot | Staff Writer

Featured image: As TTC prices increase and the implementation of the PRESTO system glitches, students wonder: will this get better? | Amir Yazdanparast

York is known as a commuter school, and many students are no strangers to the red and white buses that circulate York, which are frequently delayed, overcrowded and overpriced.

Students and faculty are travelling miles upon miles to get to campus, making the daily use of transit a necessity. Despite many students’ growing financial burdens, the TTC continues to increase fares. In 2016, the TTC’s decision to raise fares occurred in the beginning of January. While Metropass prices remained the same, the transit board approved a 25 cent increase to the adult cash fare, a 10 cent increase to the cost of a token, a 50 cent increase to family/day passes and a $1.50 increase to both adult weekly passes and downtown express stickers.

“Like many people, I believe that [the TTC] is very expensive and underdeveloped. Toronto is a big city area-wise, and comparing it to other urban centres such as New York City, London or Istanbul, the subway system needs so much improvement as well as lower fare prices,” says Mert Beloglu, third-year accounting student.

Toronto now has the most expensive monthly pass in Canada, priced at $141.50. The Toronto Star reported that Torontonians will have to ride the TTC more than 50 times per month to make the Metropass worth its price. With the increase in cash fare and the price of tokens, the TTC will still have to address a $30 million deficit through an increase in the subsidy it gets from the city.

While children are allowed to ride for free, there is no discount provided to low-income riders as in many other Canadian cities; Calgary offers a 95 per cent discount to its monthly pass for residents living in extreme poverty. Despite this, the TTC is again considering increasing fares to make up for lost costs, as it claims that it receives the smallest subsidy in North America.

“I am an international student and for me paying about $3.25 for a ride seems stupid. If I have to go to downtown then it makes sense, but sometimes going from one stop to the other [and paying that much] seems outrageous,” says Latika Verma, second-year communications student.

The TTC is beginning to phase out older fare media such as tokens and tickets and move forward with the PRESTO fare card system. Many TTC buses are now accepting PRESTO as a form of payment, however it is still encouraged to bring cash in case of a glitch. The old fare media will be accepted until mid-2017.

TTC users are not happy when it comes to the lack of reliably and inconsistency in their transit conditions. With the winter months approaching, commuters are dreading the delays and tentative bus schedules. Enduring the elements of a Canadian winter only makes matters worse. Waiting for a bus can change from a 10 minute expenditure to 25 minutes; busses seemingly go in and out of service with no warning, and the winding lines in the York Commons are surely a foreshadow of your inevitable sardine-like packing into a bus.

Commuters are left in the dust, wondering if the transit system serves them or the owners.

In 2015, the TTC broke its record of highest all-time total number of riders with 538 million. Kadeem Griffiths, TTC communications advisor, says that they are taking action to increase capacity, such as the automatic train control system coming in 2019.

“The [Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project], which is scheduled to open in late 2017, will have a subway station on the York University Campus and will help with any increased demand for transit for students traveling to and from the campus,” he adds.

With six fare hikes in six years, the unpredictability and unreliability in TTC prices and times are leaving many people looking for alternative methods of transportation. TTCriders, a grassroots transit advocacy organization, is encouraging Toronto residents to stand up against the prices and conditions of the TTC. On October 26, they are hosting an event at City Hall to protest the cost of fares for individuals in need of social assistance, including low-income families, seniors and students.

With files from Arfi Hagiyusuf