| quote: | Monthly Metropass breaks $100 barrier
Regular customers of the Toronto Transit Commission have to pay a little extra for monthly Metropasses starting today. But, if an informal survey is any guide, loyal riders regard the fare hike mostly with resignation.
The fare hike of $9.25 on the standard adult pass (to $109) is part of the TTC's strategy to relieve some of the deficit it expects next year. As of Nov. 4, the TTC will also raise prices on bulk purchases of tokens and tickets.
Ian Wheal, 70, relies on the subway to get from his Cabbagetown home to the nature walks that he leads as a volunteer for Toronto Field Naturalists. This week, passes for seniors and students jump from $83.75 to $91.25.
"I don't like it, but I've reluctantly accepted it as something that was going to happen. I don't really see any other way around it," he said.
Mr. Wheal, who has been buying Metropasses for more than 12 years, said he will budget around the hike, but he feels sorry for "people on fixed incomes or the unemployed," adding there should also be "some sort of concession for seniors who have no income beyond their pensions."
Other TTC riders, even those on a tight budget, said they weren't troubled by the extra nine dollars and change every month.
Andrew Willmore, a medical student at the University of Toronto who uses the TTC to commute to school and postings at hospitals all across the city, joked that the money he spends on transit is nothing compared to the cost of education.
"I'm already up to my eyeballs in debt, so it won't actually make much of a difference," he said, adding "at least there is some relief for students who get discounted passes."
Mr. Wilmore said he doesn't mind paying more if it means better service. "If the money goes towards upkeeping service or keeping it where it is, that's great."
Cuts to services would be worse than higher fares, agreed rider Peter Vradenburg, a TD Canada Trust manager.
He also questioned whether the hikes were much different from other rising expenses.
"I don't know if the costs going up are that much more than inflation," he said. "I think it reflects the cost of living."
TTC spokeswoman Marilyn Bolton said raising the monthly pass to more than $100 was something the commission had put off for as long as possible.
"Everything else has gone up. The cost of 10 tickets have gone up [and] cash fares," she said, pointing out the Metropass only went up by a dollar in 2006.
"But you can't keep it frozen forever," she said. "We did it for as long as we could as a bonus to our frequent users."
She said 70 per cent of the TTC's operating budget is raised by fares and the rest is subsidized by the city.
A tougher appraisal came from TTC rider Leon Damonze, a lawyer and vice-president of Cirrus Tenant Lease Services, a lease management company. He said the TTC and the city should have foreseen and managed their deficits before making the public pay.
"The City of Toronto could've found alternative ways to fund public transit without imposing a fare hike on riders," he said.
"Had they properly managed their budget, they wouldn't be in this situation ... now they're imposing an unfair tax and they're imposing a fare hike. They've got all these people, accountants, lawyers. They should be vigilant and constantly alerting the city of financial shortfalls." |
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