Riding the TTC could soon get more expensive for everyone except monthly Metropass holders.
TTC Chair Josh Colle says he plans to table a motion at Monday’s meeting of the TTC budget committee asking for a freeze on the price of Metropasses, which currently stand at $141.50 for adults.
Colle’s motion will be tabled as the committee debates the TTC fare structure for the new year and considers hiking the cash fare for the first time since 2010.
The cost of an adult Metropass has risen by $30.50 since 2010 due to several price hikes.
“Metropass users have shouldered such a load over time, they are our most loyal customers, and I think it is time now that we do give them that breather and that pause,” Colle told reporters at city hall on Thursday.
Earlier this month, the TTC budget committee discussed the merits of seven different options for hiking fares but did not endorse any of them ahead of Monday’s meeting.
The options that were considered by the budget committee included hiking the cash fare by 25 cents, increasing the cost of tokens, day passes and Metropasses to include average fare hikes of either five or ten cents, creating a single cash fare that would eliminate the discount currently given to students and seniors, or creating a single fare across the board that would eliminate student and senior discounts for Metropasses and day passes as well.
Speaking with reporters, Colle said he expects the budget committee to consider increasing the TTC cash fare both as a way to address a $95 million deficit and to encourage more riders to consider cashless options, such as Presto cards or Metropasses.
“I think a cash fare hike is certainly something we are considering and more because of the need to shift behavior,” he said. “We are going to a cashless, tokenless , transfer-less world where we want to get into Presto and at some point we are going to have to drive that behavior change away from cash.”
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