While Metrolinx maintains that fares for the new Union Pearson Express train are reasonably priced, a new poll suggests travellers may think otherwise.

Almost 70 per cent of those surveyed by Forum Research said they believe the $27 cost for a one-way ticket is “too expensive.”

Less than a quarter (23 per cent) said they believe the fare is correctly priced.

The poll, released Monday, surveyed about 1000 Torontonians and only about 42 per cent of respondents said they would be likely to use the service.

"Compared to the subway and just public transit in general, $27 is way, way more expensive," Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research, told CP24 Monday.

The express train, which is scheduled to launch this spring, will depart every 15 minutes to shuttle travellers between Union Station and Pearson International Airport in a 25-minute journey. It includes stops at the Bloor and Weston GO stations, and is being built at a cost of $456 million.

Metrolinx President Bruce McCuaig was quick to defend the UP Express fare structure Monday, adding that those with a Presto card will only pay $19 for a one-way ticket.

“It is a 15-minute departure... 25 minutes door-to-door, (there is) a place to put your luggage, wifi on the train. You can get your boarding pass at the stations," he told CP24 Monday

“If you are driving in the peak period in the Toronto region, you don’t know how long it is going to take." 

McCuaig said that Metrolinx's forecast suggests that in its first year, the UP Express will have about a million customers and by year three, there will be about 2.5 million customers.

"We are going to be monitoring very carefully and we will be wanting to make sure that we provide the right kinds of fare products that get people to use the train, because in the end, we want people to use the train." 

SmartTrack has high approval rating:

The Forum Research poll also probed public opinion on John Tory’s proposed SmartTrack Plan. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they had heard of the new mayor’s 53-kilometre, 22-station light rail transit plan and of those, 67 per cent said they approve of it.

Despite the high approval rating, 55 per cent of those who had heard of the plan said they didn’t think it would benefit them or their neighbourhood.

One quarter of respondents said that in the recent municipal election, they voted the way they did because they wanted to show their support for SmartTrack.

The poll is accurate within plus or minus 3 per cent, 19 times out of 20.