The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) board voted in favor of a fare increase at a board meeting on November 21, which would see the prices of tokens and adult PRESTO fares rise to $3.00 from the current $2.90; adult cash fares will remain the same at $3.25.
The proposed changes, once approved by city council, will also increase the price of passes. Adult Metropasses will sell for $146.25 from the previous $141.50 and weekly passes will stand at $43.75 from $42.25.
Rides for students and seniors are also set to increase, with fares rising to $2.10 from $2.00. In addition, the TTC will sell post-secondary Metropasses for $116.75, up from the current price of $112.00.
Next year will be the sixth in a row that transit fares have risen. The most recent increase in January 2016 saw adult fares rise by 25 cents to $3.25. TTC CEO Andy Byford wrote in a blog post that the TTC board decided there would be no fare increases in 2018.
The changes are projected to bring in an additional $27 million for the transit agency, which has an overall budget shortfall of $231 million.
Its estimated budget gap comes after the mayor’s request for all city departments to slash their budgets by 2.6 per cent, including the subsidy that partly funds the TTC.
The 10 cent fare hike is part of the transit agency’s plan to ease its financial burden, which, as the Toronto Star reports, also includes “savings from reducing projections for fuel, overtime, and employee benefit costs,” and delaying the switchover to the Presto card system.
With the additional measures, the TTC will expect a deficit of $61 million in its budget for 2017.
The proposed fare increases are pending approval from Toronto City Council.
