More than 35 million trips were made using Ontario integration Program during its first year, according to data from the provincial government.
In February of last year, the Ford government launched its Onefare plan and promised to eliminate barriers for shuttlers who switch between public transport systems in Toronto and around.
Commuters passing from services such as TTC In Miway or the York region, public transport paid a new price for each municipal border they crossed – or when they went to the train and bus network.
The new plan has deleted the second prices, invoicing customers only one price and reimbursing the transit agencies for the funds they should have raised.
If a rider started on the TTC and then went to a Brampton Transit bus, for example, he would only pay to mount TTC and the government would reimburse the Brampton Transit Agency.
The figures from the Ministry of Transport show that the program quickly took off, with 35 million trips in just under a year.
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Consequently, the Ford government has spent more than $ 113 million to reimburse various agencies for the second prices. This number falls into the stadium sources suggested before the launch of the program when it was estimated at a cost of $ 100 to $ 150 million.
The TTC received the largest check in the province, which reimbursed it for $ 55 million in public transport rates. Metrolinx received $ 26 million for lost prices on Go Transit and York Region Transit was reimbursed by $ 17 million.
Jonathan English, member of the Marron Institute of Urban Management who helped put pressure for the integration of prices when he worked for the Board of Trade in the Toronto region, said the program worked.
“It is quite clear that it was a success,” he told Global News.
“What we see is a big change in people who take public transport or make more practical transit trips, such as faster routes to arrive where they want to go – thanks to just integration.”
If the province plans to expand the program, the Englishman said that GO train rates should be reduced to shorter distances to move overcrowded metros runners.
“The problem is that if you are in Scarborough, it is still, let’s say, $ 7 to get the city center by going compared to the price of TTC ($ 3.30) if you take the metro,” he said.
“And we want to bring people to change if we can, because these routes have an additional capacity, as opposed to the metro where we spend billions of dollars to add a capacity.”
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