Dismal Discounts
The TTC does offer single-ride discounts for seniors like other systems, and it’s only in the passenger category of Seniors’ single ride discount that TTC doesn’t ride behind Calgary Transit. The reason: Calgary doesn’t offer a daily discount to senior like other Canadian systems; instead it offers a YEARLY pass that’s a dollar more than a MONTHLY ADULT pass, one that can give the rider a discount of over 90% compared to the TTC’s 33%. 1 MONTHLY Senior pass on the TTC (even on the Metropass Discount Plan) costs more than Calgary’s YEARLY Senior Discount pass.
Like other systems TTC offers discounts if you purchase and use tickets or tokens instead of cash. Its discount is just over 10%. But it’s still not enough to help it fall into the top 5 when ranked against Canada’s largest cities. This time Toronto’s out-discounted by Halifax’s Metro Transit – the lowest price of a ticket, and York Region Transit (YRT-VIVA) – the highest discount, more than 3 times lower than TTC’s.
If you’re a regular rider on public transit then it’s best to go to a town that’s a bit smaller. Regina, Yellowknife, and Whitehorse are tied for first place for the lowest monthly pass. If you don’t want to leave the lights of the big city, Montreal, is the place for you. The Société de trasnsport de Montréal (STM) doesn’t just have a low Monthly Pass, its Weekly Pass and Single-Day Pass is low too. It even offers an Unlimited Evenings Pass like neighbouring Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL); ride as much as you want from 6pm-5am for half the price of an unlimited full-day ride.
If you want to go for a full day tour of a city on transit, whether it’s on the West (Victoria – the lowest Day Pass) or in the East (Toronto – the highest Day Pass), it’s probably better to go to Canada’s capital first and use OC Transpo. It’s a system that lets you buy a Day Pass from the driver instead of buying it before entering the system – at the station, a vending machine, or walking to participating fare sellers. It even lands in the top 10 for lowest priced Day Passes, far ahead of the TTC.
The only reason TTC doesn’t sit at the top of the list for highest costing Monthly Pass (even though it has the highest Monthly Pass ride rate; 48 to make it worth buying) is because of Vancouver’s Translink and YRT. Translink serves the Metro Vancouver area just like the victoria Regional Transit System (VRTS). The TTC’s neighbour YRT-VIVA serves cities in the region of York including Markham and Vaughan (suburbs of Toronto).
Translink, VRTS, and YRT-VIVA charge fares by the number of zones you cross; Markham and Vaughan are part of the same zone but with a monthly pass, even if you travel through more than one zone, to Richmond Hill, Aurora, or another town served by YRT you don’t have to pay extra if you have the monthly pass.
Before amalgamation on Jan. 1, 1998 TTC served Toronto, York, Etobicoke, East York, North York, and Scarborough. Now it only serves one city.
TTC works with the YRT-VIVA, Mississauga’s MiWay, and Brampton Transit to sell the GTA Weekly Pass. but if you end you end up buying enough to last you a month, you’re paying more than an unlimited month in Metro Vancouver or Victoria.
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