Thursday’s headlines

7 comments

1. I’m pleased that finally, finally, one of the four majors papers managed to squeak in a tiny reference to the cost of TTC fares relative to other cities. (Thanks, Tess.) There is no point going after the red herring of why more money is needed, or how people can’t afford to pay more, or when the last fare hike was – we all get that. The true path to change lies in pointing out how a monthly transit pass in Toronto costs more than anywhere on the planet Earth. That fact should silence the “make the transit riders pay their true cost” crowd and force everyone else to realize that something is broken in the TTC funding mechanism. When you are already charging more than anyone else, you just can’t go back to the well.

   Scream it from the rooftops and maybe, maybe, the politicians will be shamed into finding other structural means to fund the TTC. I’ll try to do a quick internet search on fares tonight and post the data.

2. Curious how freezing garbage rates for one year apparently apocalyptic problems the following year, but the Mayor and Admiral Giambrone didn’t think of that when freezing TTC fares for two years.

3. iSkyscraper,

   To be meaningful you need to also show the cost per passenger mile, including capital cost.

   Mark,

   Good point. It is also similar to Lastman’s tax freeze. Bad when Mel did it but good when David does.

4. I liked the points in the Spadina article about ideological opposition to heights and the “more condos” complaint

5. iSkyscraper: Keep in mind that a TTC metropass covers a wide area.

   I used to live in Melbourne, Australia, which has a great transit system (with more streetcars than Toronto). Melbourne has fare zones. The cheapest pass was about the same cost as a TTC metropass, but it covered a much smaller area.

   A TTC metropass covers an area which is about the same as a two-zone pass in Melbourne, and those cost around $200 if I recall correctly. So the TTC metropass is much cheaper.

6. It is true that this kind of thing gets complicated when comparing fixed-fare systems to zoned systems, and wildly fluctuating currencies like the Australian and Canadian dollar don’t help. (Aus$ has been anywhere from 47 cents to 98 cents US over the last ten years, while the Canadian dollar has been in the 63 to 1.01 range). Furthermore, Melbourne passes include the equivalent of GO trains, and their second zone includes the most distant suburbs, the equivalent to the 905 region of Toronto.

   I think it is fair to say that 95% of their huge tram network lies within zone 1 and their zone 1 monthly pass costs about $105 Cdn, far less than TTC and GO combined within the 416. Their senior/student pass is about $50, not the $90 in Toronto just for TTC alone. So Toronto still keeps its title as most expensive.

   But to avoid further difficult comparisons with, say, London (zones and sky-high currency make it hard to comp, though a cash fare for zones 1-2 on Oyster is around $2.50-$3.50 Cdn) I’ll restrict myself to stating that Toronto is the most expensive transit system in North America. There are enough peer systems within our own continent to still make Toronto prices stick out like a sore thumb.

7. Here is some quick data. I’m only comparing adult cash fares (F), adult monthly passes (P) and student/senior monthly passes (S). Of course many systems have discounts for card holders, multiple tickets, etc. that reduce the per ride cost but the cash fare and monthly passes tend to represent the extremes. Note that student/senior definitions can vary slightly by age. For systems with zones, I’ve picked the inner and middle zones that are roughly equivalent to most of the 416. Fares are for subway and/or bus but not commuter rail unless noted. I’ve ignored transfers since where they incur cost this tends to be cancelled out by other discounts.

   All US cities are listed in US dollars, which, compared to local purchasing power, can be more or less considered equal to Cdn dollars in this survey.

   ———–

   City / F / P / S

   TTC (2009 $2.75 $109 $91.25
   TTC (2010) $3.00 $126 $104
   NYC $2.25 $89 $44.50
   Boston $2.00 $59 $29.50
   Phila $2.00 $78 Free for seniors!*
   Chicago $2.25 $86 Free for seniors!
   Atlanta $2.00 $60 $46
   DC $2.75 $105 $53^
   SF (Muni) $2.00 $55 $15*
   LA $1.25 $62 $14-36
   Dallas $1.75 $65 $32
   Portland+ $2.00 $75 $26
   Vancouver+ $3.75 $99 $42
   Ottawa $3.00 $85 $65
   Montreal $2.75 $69 $37
   Calgary $2.50 $83 $53

   *Includes commuter rail
   +Zones 1 and 2
   ^Typical trip is around $2.75; short trips off-peak are only $1.35 while long distances at peak may cost $4.50. There are no monthly passes but a 7-day pass in the core area costs $26.50. Seniors are half price, but students get no discount.

   ———-

   Take a moment to soak in those numbers. In most US cities, occasional riders pay less, monthly commuters pay significantly less, and seniors/students pay far less than poor Torontonians. Only DC and Vancouver can really challenge TTC riders for the Most Fleeced award, but DC’s transit system is simply superb and Vancouver’s is not so expensive if you stay within the city (Zone 1). If the fare increase goes through, you could buy two monthly passes in some cities for the cost of one in Toronto. This is simply an exceptional fact that deserves much more attention in the press.

   I’m all for funding the TTC better, but something is wrong here. Come up with a payroll tax, take from the gas tax, increase direct senior government funding — whatever works elsewhere. Just stop milking the abused riders.