The TTC and Metrolinx are exploring the possibility of an integrated fare at two GO stations in an attempt to ease overcrowding on busy TTC routes that cut through downtown Toronto.
At Wednesday’s board meeting, TTC chair Karen Stintz asked staff to work with Metrolinx and report back in November on the feasibility of an integrated fare between TTC and GO Transit services at Bloor and Exhibition stations using Presto card technology.
Metrolinx is on board with the study, which will examine how to integrate the fare, whether the GO train system can handle an influx of TTC passengers in the west end and what kind of impact such a measure would have at crowded Union Station.
Coun. Mike Layton, who has been pushing for an integrated fare to take some pressure off the King streetcar line, said Metrolinx has indicated that there is room on GO trains that run through Exhibition Station, but it will mostly be "standing room" only.
If the study favours the proposal, Stintz hopes to launch a pilot project in 2014.
The study is taking place after Layton met with Metrolinx president and CEO Bruce McCuaig in September to discuss possible solutions to overcrowding on King streetcars after listening to complaints from residents of the rapidly-expanding Liberty Village neighbourhood in his ward.
Layton and McCuaig discussed an integrated fare, including a premium fare option, that would allow TTC users to avoid the King streetcar and hop on a GO train with shorter travel times to and from the downtown core.
The pair also discussed the possibility of building a new GO station in Liberty Village to make it easier for neighbourhood residents and employees to access GO trains to and from Union Station.
McCuaig wrote a letter to Layton after their meeting to inform the councillor that his staff is willing to study the proposals with TTC and city employees.
In an interview with CP24 on Thursday, Layton said the integrated fare would be an easy way to take some pressure off the King streetcar line without having to invest in a large, expensive transit project.
Layton said the five-minute, three-kilometre ride between Exhibition and Union stations costs nearly $5, and passengers have to pay an additional fare of up to $3 if they transfer to the TTC to reach their final destination.
The integrated fare would reduce that cost.
In other GTA municipalities, riders get a discounted fare of 50 to 75 cents from the municipal transit agency if they have already paid a GO fare, Layton told CP24 commentator Stephen LeDrew.
The TTC and Metrolinx are already planning to introduce Presto cards across the entire TTC system by 2016. Stintz's proposal would provide a near-immediate integration at a limited number of stations before the system-wide rollout.
@ChrisKitching is on Twitter. For instant breaking news, follow @CP24 on Twitter.
