TTC chair urges fare deal for riders also using GO

The chair of the TTC is urging Metrolinx to go fast on fare integration to give Toronto transit users some badly needed commuting alternatives.

“There are quick wins to be had in piloting this project at GO Transit’s Exhibition, Bloor and Danforth stations,” wrote Karen Stintz to Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig.

“This proposal generates the opportunity to improve the lives of everyone who lives and works in Toronto and across our urban region,” she said.

Metrolinx, which is already studying fare integration, has a report before its board on Thursday. If approved, Metrolinx staff would conduct public consultations in early 2014 and potentially launch a pilot before the end of next year.

Other municipalities in the region have integration agreements with GO that gives riders a price break if they use local transit and the regional GO system.

But the TTC has never had such an arrangement even though GO service connects with 10 subway and Scarborough RT stations.

“If the program were applied in Toronto, there would be significant fare revenue losses and a resulting requirement for a new additional subsidy to offset these lost fare revenues,” said a report before the TTC board last month.

It also noted that “there is very little space on GO rail services to accommodate new riders within Toronto.”

Still, some GO stops are seen as having relief potential from the crowding on routes such as the King streetcar.

It is regularly jammed but Exhibition Station on the GO line could offer “a faster and more direct alternative than the TTC can offer,” said the TTC report.

The total fare for passengers using both, however, is around $7 to $8 per trip, about four times higher than the TTC average fare of $2.

Transit officials say that fare integration will be easier once the provincial Presto fare card is in wide use across the TTC.