TORONTO – Commuters who take longer trips using GO Transit can expect to pay higher fares in the new year while some prices for using the Union Pearson Express are slated to drop.
Metrolinx, the province’s regional transportation agency, will meet Thursday at its board meeting to approve the new changes which will see GO Transit riders pay about 5 per cent more on all but the shortest GO rides.
According to a report released Monday, the fare prices for shorter trips will be frozen but those taking longer rides will pay between 40 to 60 cents more.
READ MORE: Commuters face delay during first trip on UPX train
The new rate change is expected to be rolled out starting Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, the Union Pearson Express line which connects the airport to downtown Toronto will see several price adjustments to increase ridership.
Metrolinx will now allow children 12 and under to ride for free as well as reducing return adult fare to $44 compared to the current $53.
“We done a lot of work with other rail links around the world that are very similar to UP Express and listened to what they had to say and how they build their ridership,” said Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins.
“They all had similar experiences that ridership was their biggest challenge the first year introducing people to a new service.”
READ MORE: Metrolinx proposes 5 per cent fare hike increase for 2015
New family fares will also be introduced at a cost of $55 for airport meet-and-greets and long layover fares.
Airport workers will see their discounted monthly passes reduced for a limited time from $300 to $250.
Advocacy group TTCriders said in a statement that the fare breaks are “too small” to turn the train into an “affordable and useful” line for Toronto.
“The Union Pearson should be the Downtown Relief Line for the west, but instead it’s still an empty luxury line for jet-setters,” said spokeswoman Jessica Bell.
“These fare breaks are a tiny step in the right direction, but if we truly want a useful train line we need to board at the price of a TTC token.”
The group also said it was calling on the Wynne Government and Metrolinx to look to Vancouver’s new 19 kilometre train line from the airport, which costs the regular public transit fare to ride it within the city.
“While these virtually empty UP Express trains pass us by we’re packed like sardines on the chronically underfunded and overcrowded TTC,” said Bell.
“The drop in the fare for airport workers is a step in the right direction but if we really want this train to be useful to Pearson Airport’s 40,000 workers the price needs to be lower.”
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