The number of children riding the TTC for free surpassed 25 million in 2017, representing a 130 per cent jump from the first year of a program waiving fares for riders under the age of 12.
Mayor John Tory made the announcement on Wednesday morning, one day ahead of the three-year anniversary of the program.
He said that the increase in TTC usage by children is proof “that even the simplest of changes can have huge impact on affordability in our city.”
“A low income family can end up spending as much as 20 per cent of available income on riding transit,” he said after joining students at Oriole Park Junior Public School for a TTC ride to the Royal Ontario Muesum. “Families should not have to choose between paying for transit to get their kids to school or putting the right kind of food on their table.”
The children ride for free policy was first introduced in 2015 when a total of 23 million rides trips were taken. The number of trips taken by children under 12 then jumped to 22 million in 2016 and 25 million in 2017.
Tory said it his expectation that ridership among children will continue to increase due to the existence of the program.
He said that the idea behind the program is twofold. First and foremost, he said that its existence has provided some financial relief to struggling families. Secondly, he said that it has resulted in more children riding the TTC, which will hopefully turn them into life-long public transit users.
“I believe if kids are used to using transit and can see the convenience, safety and affordability of transit relative to a car then they will grow up believing that this is something that they should continue to do,” he said. “If we can have more people that keep that habit throughout their lives, that would be a positive thing for them and a positive thing for municipalities.”
The TTC’s kids ride for free policy carries an annual cost of about $8 million.
Tory said the policy was “the right thing to do” when it was first introduced and remains the right thing to do.
The year before the policy was introduced, in 2014, there were only 11 million rides taken by children on the TTC.
“I hear from parents all the time about the benefit it has provided them,” Tory said.
