TTC fares
I went on vacation to Vancouver maybe 2 years ago, and their transit system had a zone fare system. There were three zones: downtown, and two further-out zones. If you travelled within one zone, the fare was maybe less than 2 dollars. If you travelled across all three, it was more than $3.
I have often wondered if the TTC shouldn’t re-adopt this type of fare scheme, seeing as how they are always asking for more money to run the system properly.
I called a phone-in show on CFRB several months ago, and brought up the topic, and was cut off quickly; both the host and guest were old enough to remember the zone system that existed on the TTC previously and had bad memories of it, waiting for customers to deposit the extra fare before the vehicle could cross into the other fare zone.
However I thought that Vancouver’s proof-of-payment system was rather slick; instead of a newsprint transfer, theirs has a magnetic strip that you put into a card-reader on the bus, and if your trip time has run out, or if you are out of your paid-for zone, the magnetic strip will tattle on you; no my-word-against-yours disputes to hold up the other riders. They also had cool LED signs at bus stops, that displayed, to the minute, when the next bus was expected. Our transit system seems a little archaic in comparison.
Every time I hear David Miller asking for more money for the TTC, I think of this Vancouver zone fare system, and how maybe it would generate more revenue, and how much more fair it would be to have riders pay for the distance they travel; perhaps the fares could be dropped considerably for people who just have to go one or two blocks.
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I totally agree with you and the zone fare system. I visit my sister every year in London and although their trains are incredibly old, their travelling fares are extremely reasonable. I remember Londoners asking me why Toronto, a major city in Canada that has a newer and nicer underground system, STILL runs on a token system.
Go figure!
we lived in san francisco for awhile and their rapid transit system fares are based on the distance you travel. the further you travel the more money you pay to ride the transit. no rocket science there!
seems like most place i travel that has some sort of rapid transit system via above ground or underground uses some sort of zone system for fares. i agree that if toronto wants to expand on their ttc subway and rapid system, they need to evolve in the way they charge. seems fair enough to me.
The TTC person who was interviewed on CFRB said something to the effect of “there will _never_ be zone fares on the TTC.”
I thought, well, then, the TTC will always be kind of strapped for cash.
People should write to their local city councillors!! :)
Good idea! I also can’t understand why the transfer system is so crappy. I use a ticket or token to take the bus.. in return I am handed a paper transfer for the subway. At the subway, I have to show the transfer to the TTC person, instead of inserting into the machine and zipping through on my merry way. The paper transfer wastes time and money. boo.