One Fare program helps students in managing cost of commute
After an extensive period of discussion, the One Fare program was officially launched across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on Feb. 26.
The One Fare program aims to simplify public transit by allowing passengers to pay a single fare for their journey, no matter the number of buses or subways used, even across different cities and transit systems.
This initiative facilitates a unified fare system for more travel.
This new program will allow riders to transfer with one payment within a two-hour window, between the TTC, Durham Region Transit, York Region Transit, Brampton Transit, MiWay, and the Mississauga Transit.
Furthermore, the fare integration now encompasses Go Transit. Previously, individuals were required to pay full fare for both Go Transit and TTC, separately. However, with this integration, people can use both TTC and Go Transit with one payment. once the Presto card is tapped at the start of a GO Transit journey.
The Ontario government estimates the program will save an average of $1,600 for transit riders and students. Additionally, officials hope it will add nine million new journeys to the system every year.
They believe that this program not only supports individual budget management but also aligns with broader goals of increasing public transit usage and promoting environmental sustainability within the community.
For students, who often have tight budgets alongside their academic responsibilities, the impact of this fare integration might be considered profound, since many students can`t afford the cost of living in Toronto and reside in other cities.
The burden of paying multiple fares for daily commutes has been a significant financial stress for students and consumes a large portion of their monthly budget.
“For students that commute from outside of Toronto, the One Fare Program will significantly reduce the financial burden associated with taking transit to school by eliminating duplicate fares. Using the one fare program, students commuting 5 days a week (round trip) would save over $450 per semester. I believe this program is an important step for improving the affordability and accessibility of transit for students. With added discounts, this program may also prompt some students to consider taking transit instead of driving to school and paying for parking,” said Max Davidson, chair of the SAGBC transit committee and Health Sciences educational centre representative.
In addition to this new program, the SAGBC has also recently created a short-term solution in the form of a PRESTO load program.
Davidson noted, “In combination with SAGBC`s Presto load program, students are being provided with much needed transit relief.”
While this will help some students over the next few months, Davidson believes more needs to be done and says he will continue to advocate on their behalf.
“The work doesn`t stop there, the one fare program and SAGBC`s Presto load is not currently long-term solution, and I intend to continue looking at avenues to alleviate the cost of living for students, including long-term transit solutions and other major issue as food insecurity, lack of affordable housing and employment,” he said.
For more information on the One Fare Program, students can visit www.gotransit.com/en/ways-to-pay/fare-information,and TTC website at https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Updates/One-Fare-Program.
