Mr Man
September 23rd, 2004, 06:20 PM
TTC ponders return-trip pass
Riders could do errands on one fare, within a time limit
Commission also considering rear-door entry on streetcars
KEVIN MCGRAN
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
The TTC is considering introducing a system-wide time-limited transfer that would allow passengers to pay just one fare to go shopping and return home, all part of a bid to increase ridership.
The current transfer system doesn't allow riders to hop off public transit to do some banking, or drop their kids at day care, and then get back on again without paying a second fare. Commissioners told TTC staff yesterday to report back in February on the impact of a time-limited transfer, which would act as a kind of short-term transit pass, perhaps good for 90 minutes or two hours.
"Time transfers would allow a passenger to get on a streetcar, shop and get home," said Councillor Joe Mihevc, the Toronto Transit Commission's vice-chair. "I think it would show us to be extremely passenger friendly and small-business friendly.
"It would give the small businesses along College, Bloor, Spadina, St. Clair, that little bit of competitive edge that they need right now. It's a real neighbourhood revitalization strategy, as well as a TTC ridership strategy."
The proposal was one of many service-improvement ideas bandied about at the commission's monthly meeting. In addition, the TTC is considering:
Allowing streetcar passengers with proof of payment to enter through the rear doors.
Removing rush-hour restrictions and reducing the price of the $7.75 one-day adult pass.
Introducing a weekly transit pass.
Eliminating paper tickets.
Selling daily and weekly passes through vending machines.
Converting the Sunday family pass — which costs $7.75 for six people, with a maximum of two adults — to a weekend pass.
"I happen to believe we're actually going to make money," Councillor Howard Moscoe, who chairs the TTC, said of the initiatives. "I think if you had a weekend pass for tourists, they'd use the hell out of it.
"In terms of the weekly pass, it's absolutely essential. Working people in the city can no longer pay $100 a month (for a Metropass). I think weekly pass use would skyrocket."
There are problems with many of the initiatives, not the least of which is the possibility of cheaters. Some might sell their transfer, costing the TTC fares. Proof of payment for rear-door entries requires enforcement officers, like on GO trains, adding to operating costs. Weekly passes without photo identification, which is found on a Metropass, could lead to friends "sharing" the pass, but with photo identification could add to bureaucracy. Vending machines placed throughout the city could be costly.
But Mihevc said the TTC primarily should be worried about riders, adding the time-limited transfer would be a boon.
"I think it will only increase ridership," he said. "If I knew I could go to a store, a Home Depot at the end of the line, and come back on the same fare, I might be encouraged to leave my car at home. That's one ride the TTC wouldn't otherwise have had.
"It might actually yield enough additional passengers, encouraging people to make a short trip to the dentist or the doctor, now to take the TTC," he said.
"I think it's an idea whose time has come. It is present in so many jurisdictions around the world, and it's good news for all citizens in the city of Toronto."
Mihevc put forward motions on the time-limited transfer and proof-of-payment proposals as an outgrowth of a study that recommended streetcars on St. Clair Ave. be given their own right-of-way.
Merchants fear losing parking spaces to make room for streetcar-only and left-turn lanes.
Riders could do errands on one fare, within a time limit
Commission also considering rear-door entry on streetcars
KEVIN MCGRAN
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
The TTC is considering introducing a system-wide time-limited transfer that would allow passengers to pay just one fare to go shopping and return home, all part of a bid to increase ridership.
The current transfer system doesn't allow riders to hop off public transit to do some banking, or drop their kids at day care, and then get back on again without paying a second fare. Commissioners told TTC staff yesterday to report back in February on the impact of a time-limited transfer, which would act as a kind of short-term transit pass, perhaps good for 90 minutes or two hours.
"Time transfers would allow a passenger to get on a streetcar, shop and get home," said Councillor Joe Mihevc, the Toronto Transit Commission's vice-chair. "I think it would show us to be extremely passenger friendly and small-business friendly.
"It would give the small businesses along College, Bloor, Spadina, St. Clair, that little bit of competitive edge that they need right now. It's a real neighbourhood revitalization strategy, as well as a TTC ridership strategy."
The proposal was one of many service-improvement ideas bandied about at the commission's monthly meeting. In addition, the TTC is considering:
Allowing streetcar passengers with proof of payment to enter through the rear doors.
Removing rush-hour restrictions and reducing the price of the $7.75 one-day adult pass.
Introducing a weekly transit pass.
Eliminating paper tickets.
Selling daily and weekly passes through vending machines.
Converting the Sunday family pass — which costs $7.75 for six people, with a maximum of two adults — to a weekend pass.
"I happen to believe we're actually going to make money," Councillor Howard Moscoe, who chairs the TTC, said of the initiatives. "I think if you had a weekend pass for tourists, they'd use the hell out of it.
"In terms of the weekly pass, it's absolutely essential. Working people in the city can no longer pay $100 a month (for a Metropass). I think weekly pass use would skyrocket."
There are problems with many of the initiatives, not the least of which is the possibility of cheaters. Some might sell their transfer, costing the TTC fares. Proof of payment for rear-door entries requires enforcement officers, like on GO trains, adding to operating costs. Weekly passes without photo identification, which is found on a Metropass, could lead to friends "sharing" the pass, but with photo identification could add to bureaucracy. Vending machines placed throughout the city could be costly.
But Mihevc said the TTC primarily should be worried about riders, adding the time-limited transfer would be a boon.
"I think it will only increase ridership," he said. "If I knew I could go to a store, a Home Depot at the end of the line, and come back on the same fare, I might be encouraged to leave my car at home. That's one ride the TTC wouldn't otherwise have had.
"It might actually yield enough additional passengers, encouraging people to make a short trip to the dentist or the doctor, now to take the TTC," he said.
"I think it's an idea whose time has come. It is present in so many jurisdictions around the world, and it's good news for all citizens in the city of Toronto."
Mihevc put forward motions on the time-limited transfer and proof-of-payment proposals as an outgrowth of a study that recommended streetcars on St. Clair Ave. be given their own right-of-way.
Merchants fear losing parking spaces to make room for streetcar-only and left-turn lanes.