TTC will increase fares next year to fight fare evasion and racism

Yesterday, the most hotly contested document of the year was released. I am talking, of course, about the 2020 TTC budget.

Most notable for transit riders is that most fares will increase starting in March:

A 10-cent increase to Presto fares ($3.20)
A $4.85 increase to monthly Presto passes ($156)
A $5.70 increase to monthly Presto passes for post-secondary students ($117.45)

Cash fares will remain the same ($3.25).

The fare increases are expected to bring in an extra $31.4 million in passenger revenues. Overall, the TTC reports an operating budget of $2.14 billion.

The increased revenue from passengers and the City (an additional $27 million compared to last year) will fund a number of initiatives. They include:

128,000 hours of new transit service
Hiring 121 additional operators
An anti-racism strategy
Hiring 50 staff solely committed to fighting fare evasion

Mayor John Tory was especially thrilled about the last point. His statement on the 2020 TTC budget leads with the “outrageous” and “infuriating” problem of people not paying their fare. Citing the Auditor General, TTC CEO Rick Leary said the company lost almost $60 million due to fare evasion last year.