Tory, Colle push for Metropass price freeze, increased TTC service on Sundays

TORONTO – Mayor John Tory and TTC chair Josh Colle are pushing for a price freeze on Metropasses, while TTC service could also be available an hour earlier on Sundays.

Colle said he intends on putting forward a motion asking for a freeze on Metropass costs.

“Metropass users have shouldered such a load over time and they are our most loyal customers,” Colle said.

“We think it’s time now that we do give them that breather and that pause.” The TTC chair added a cash fare hike is also being considered by the board.

“We need to get out of the cash business,” Colle said.

“One of the very robust conversations we’ll have both at the budget committee and the commission, is what’s a fair cash fare amount.”

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After releasing an open letter on Thursday, Tory and Colle said they also want to see service start at 8 a.m. on Sundays.

“People are on shift work. People have different kinds of schedules in their life … for a lot of people, Sunday is just another work day,” Tory said.

“It’s the beginning … Really the message that is coming from me the Mayor … is to say to the TTC … that I hope that they will move quickly to say yes to this.”

Members of the TTC commission will be presented with a report that will outline ways for subway service to begin at 8 a.m. on Sundays.

The cost of an earlier Sunday service would be about $1 million, which the mayor says is achievable within the context of the budget.

“This is a practical, sensible step forward,” Tory said.

During the Pan Am games, TTC service began at 6 a.m. on Sundays in an attempt to accommodate spectators, tourists and TTC customers.

But Colle says there are operational constraints that resulted in a delays for applying permanent changes to subway services.

“We have waited 50 or 60 years to do essential signal and track work that have been long neglected that we are now doing,” Colle said.

“As we accelerate and pursue this work, we think there will be more opportunities to look at earlier and later openings for the subway.”

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Currently, Sunday subway service begins at 9 a.m.

Tory said his ultimate goal is to have the subway open for the same number of hours, 7 days week.

“Even this one hour of extra service on Sundays will have several hundred thousand rides that will made possible.”