Fares have increased substantially since the commission was formed, both in
nominal and real terms. There have also been major changes to the way fares are paid for and in the schemes used to determine fares.
Presto fare media (2007–present) in 2019 In 2007, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) committed to implementing the Presto system at 14 of its major subway stations. In 2008, the TTC approved the use of a smartcard system and worked with Presto in addressing the TTC's business requirements for "full" system participation. An initial funding allocation of $140million was earmarked by the provincial and federal governments and the City of Toronto; however, the TTC estimated in its 2009–2013 budget that the project would take $365million to complete. On 28 November 2012, TTC CEO
Andy Byford, TTC chair
Karen Stintz, and Metrolinx signed the master agreement committing the TTC to the Presto fare payment system. The agreement fell under another master agreement that for the next ten years the new four LRT lines would be built by Metrolinx and operated by the TTC. The TTC was the last system to commit to Presto, while also being the largest system with the most users in Canada. On 30 November 2014, the Flexity Outlook streetcars became the first surface vehicles on the TTC to be equipped with this system. The older
Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV) streetcars would follow one year later on 14 December 2015, when those cars were retrofitted with Presto machines as well, and all remaining surface vehicles (including buses) and at least one entrance of all subway stations were equipped with this system by 23 December 2016. In April 2016, was the first station on the subway system to have the new paddle-door fare gates, which replaced the old tripod turnstiles, installed. All subway stations (at least one entrance per station) became fully Presto-compatible by 22 December 2016. From May to December 2016, Presto readers were installed in TTC buses from west to east by division. By 31 May 2016, all Queensway division buses were equipped with Presto readers. This was followed by Wilson and Arrow Road divisions in August 2016 and Malvern and Mount Dennis divisions in October 2016. Birchmount and Eglinton divisions were the last two divisions to have the readers rolled out, with installations completed by 23 December 2016. By September 2016, frequent reports emerged that Presto loading machines, fare gates, and the units for tapping cards were not functioning as initially expected. The prevalence of these outages had the TTC calling the situation "unacceptable", although Byford noted the situation was improving. Across 2016 and 2017, faulty Presto devices resulted in 1.4million free rides on the TTC, each ride representing forgone revenue for the Commission. The TTC estimated that from January 2016 to February 2018, it had lost $4.2million in fare revenue as a result of problems with Presto readers, for which—as per the master agreement of 2012—Metrolinx was obligated to reimburse the TTC. In June 2017, the TTC made their monthly Metropasses available on the Presto card; initially, only the adult and senior versions were available; by the fourth quarter of 2018, student, youth, post-secondary student, and 12-month discount Metropasses were available to load to Presto cards. On 7 January 2018, the TTC and Metrolinx introduced a discounted double co-fare for customers transferring between
Union Pearson Express,
GO Transit and the TTC. The discounted fare was only available to Presto card customers who paid single fares using a stored card balance and was not available to customers who paid by cash, paper tickets, tokens or a Presto card with a digital monthly TTC pass loaded on it. This program was cancelled on 1 April 2020, after the Ontario provincial government was unable to renew the contract to extend the double-fare discount program. Starting in April 2018, the City of Toronto implemented its Fair Pass program for eligible low-income residents as part of the City's poverty reduction policies. The program was implemented through the Presto card, and offered $1 off single rides or $30.75 off a monthly pass relative to adult rates at the time of implementation. On 26 August 2018,
Presto users were given a two-hour, time-based transfer when paying a single fare. This feature was not granted to those who carry paper transfers. By the end of December 2018, Presto readers were available on all streetcars and TTC buses as well in all subway station entrances (including both the main/staffed and unstaffed/automated entrances). on Line 2 was the last subway station to be equipped with readers. In late 2018, the TTC began internal testing of single-use paper Presto fare cards, called
Presto tickets (which include one-ride, two-ride and day pass tickets), to replace legacy tickets and tokens. They were officially made available to the public at and stations on 6 April 2019, and were later made available at all
Line 1 subway stations between Lawrence West and
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre on 3 May 2019. Starting 1 January 2019, Wheel-Trans customers using a Wheel-Trans sedan taxi could pay their fare using a TTC monthly pass on a Presto card. Otherwise, customers without a monthly pass had to pay the fare by cash, concession tickets or tokens. In June 2019, the TTC sent Metrolinx an invoice for $7.5million to recover revenue lost due to faulty Presto readers. Metrolinx refused to pay the invoice, because—in their view—it was "not valid", and Metrolinx had borne most of the costs of Presto implementation. Effective 29 July 2019, riders can use a Presto card to pay both the TTC and
MiWay fares for TTC buses crossing into Mississauga past Pearson Airport, and effective 26 August 2019, a Presto card can pay both the TTC and
York Region Transit fares for TTC bus routes operating between Toronto and York Region. Effective 26 August 2019, riders can use the Presto card to pay the full double fare on Downtown Express bus routes (141–145). Presto cardholders also have the option of loading either a monthly or 12-month Downtown Express pass onto their Presto card. These two passes replace the previously available Downtown Express sticker that one could purchase and affix to a Presto card. In February 2020, the TTC audit committee estimated that fraudulent use of the child Presto card accounted for 33.7 percent of all fare evasion and that 90 percent of taps using a child Presto card were fraudulently made by riders over 12 years of age. Children 12 and under ride free, and the child Presto card is to allow a child to pass through the fare gates at a subway entrance. Fare evasion using a child Presto card results in an estimated $23-million annual loss in revenue. Demand for child Presto cards grew by 75 percent in 2019 while demand for other concessions on a Presto card grew by only 25 percent. In September and October 2021, Presto readers were upgraded so that if a child card is used, the reader sounds a three-toned chime and flashes a yellow light. By 25 September 2021, Presto readers on TTC surface vehicles had their screen formats updated to provide customers with more information, such as the amount of fare paid, the remaining balance, the transfer expiry time, or whether a monthly or an all-day ride pass was used. If a Presto card or ticket is declined, the screen displays the reason. If a child card is used, the reader sounds a three-toned chime. If a Fair Pass card is used, the reader sounds one beep instead of the previous two. Similar upgrades to the readers at subway station fare gates took place on 4 October 2021. Between September 2022 and June 2023,
Metrolinx and the TTC upgraded their readers on Wheel-Trans vehicles, buses, streetcars and subway station fare gates in order to support open payment using credit and debit cards and mobile wallets, a feature that was launched across the TTC network on 15 August 2023. On 26 February 2024, the TTC joined the province's
One Fare Program, a fare integration program that enables free or discounted transfers between TTC, GO Transit, and other Presto-enabled local municipal transit agencies in the
905 regions for customers using Presto cards or contactless credit and debit cards.
Fare arrangements Proof of payment (1990–present) POP was introduced on the Queen streetcar lines in 1990 to make better use of the
Articulated Light Rail Vehicles on the line. Prior to August 2014, the POP system was limited to the Queen routes because these routes do not enter a fare-paid terminal of
subway stations, due to concerns of further
fare evasion. POP is incompatible with the paperless transfer system used by the rail system. The POP system was extended to the
510 Spadina route on 31 August 2014 coinciding with the introduction on that day of new
Flexity Outlook streetcars; this is because operators on these vehicles are in a closed cab and are not responsible for fare collection and do not normally issue paper POP transfers. The
504 King followed on 1 January 2015, and the 509 Harbourfront route also became POP on 29 March 2015 when the Flexity streetcars were added on that line.
Presto time-based transfers (2017–present) In November 2017, a Toronto transit advocacy group,
TTCriders, along with Toronto mayor
John Tory and two Toronto city councillors including TTC chair
Josh Colle, made a request to the TTC to introduce system-wide two-hour time-based transfers across the entire TTC network (a system that is already in place on other local Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area transit agencies). The new system officially debuted on 26 August 2018, following the TTC's board of directors approval on 28 November 2017. The TTC estimates that the program will add five million trips to the system, at a cost of $20.9million annually, as this incentive will allow for unlimited travel – including the ability to enter and exit any TTC vehicles and stations, along with changing their direction of travel – within two hours from initial tap-on without having to pay another fare. The two-hour time-based transfer is only available to Presto, credit and debit card users. Paper transfers are only valid for a continuous one-way trip with no stopovers or backtracking permitted. Adult tickets were issued until 29 September 2008, when they were withdrawn due to counterfeiting. Adult tickets were temporarily reissued between 23 November 2009 and 31 January 2010 to alleviate demand on tokens in the lead-up to a fare hike that also withdrew all older tickets and passes. The new tokens were simply designed with the word "SUBWAY" prominently displayed on both sides. The TTC preferred riders to use tokens instead of tickets because turnstiles activated by tokens were efficient in allowing access into the station. However, tokens were unpopular with riders because they got mixed in with loose change and many riders continued to use tickets. To address this problem, cardboard holders containing seven tokens were introduced in 1962. Token sales doubled.
Honest Ed's, a former independent retailer, offered a plastic holder with its logo on it. By 1966, a new brass token was introduced for single-token sales. The brass token used a more elaborate design displaying the TTC crest on the obverse and the TTC logo on the reverse. The extension of the
Bloor–Danforth subway into the boroughs of Etobicoke and Scarborough was commemorated by special brass tokens in 1968. These remained in circulation for a limited time. New aluminum tokens were introduced in 1975 using the design of the 1966 brass tokens. The 1954 and 1975 tokens remained in circulation until February 2007, when the remaining 30million were withdrawn due to increased counterfeiting. The replacement for the 1954 and 1975 tokens was a bi-metal design, which was phased in starting in November 2006. It replaced the old tokens completely in February 2007. The 2006 tokens were heavier and more resistant to counterfeiting. Counterfeits of the 2006 tokens were discovered in 2010. The counterfeits had the correct mass and dimensions, but had subtle typographic errors and lacked the expensive nickel used in real tokens for durability. The counterfeits did not work in automated turnstiles but could pass undetected by a human collector. The TTC discontinued the sale of tokens at subway stations effective 1 December 2019 in favour of Presto fare media. The TTC introduced the Metropass in 1980. At that time, there was only one price, based on the adult fare. The pass was not transferable and had to be used with TTC-issued
photo ID cards (in about 2000, the TTC also began accepting Ontario
driver's licences as ID). A lower-price Metropass for seniors was added in 1984, and for students in 1991 (originally at a slightly higher rate than seniors). The magnetic strip was added to the pass in 1990, allowing it to operate automatic turnstiles, even though this meant that the user's ID would then not normally be checked. To combat fraud and sharing the pass amongst riders, a printable box was placed on the right-hand side of the card. To make the pass valid for the month, the commuter hand-printed the digits of either the commuter's Metropass photo ID card, if the commuter had one, or the commuter's initials and abbreviated gender if the commuter used other ID. The holder of the pass was also required to show the commuter's Metropass photo ID card or another piece of
Government of Ontario-issued identification at the same time that the holder presented their pass. From 1992 to 2009, free parking for Metropass users was provided at certain subway-station parking lots. Some lots were restricted to Metropass users. In February 1993, the Metropass became the same size as a credit card and could be swiped at subway stations. The new design was a simple mono-coloured and two-shaded design, with the abbreviation of the month in a large font, and the year placed beneath it in the same typeface and colour. The background of the card's front had a shaded design to enable the holder to distinguish the text on the card. At about the same time, the TTC introduced an annual Metropass, good for a whole year. As a higher-cost option, the pass was available in transferable form: the first transferable pass on the TTC. Both versions were soon withdrawn and replaced by the 12-month discount plan for the regular monthly pass. From July 1996 to March 2004, the pass carried a faux gold-stamped version of the Toronto Transit Commission's seal. In 2000, the design was altered to include the "Toronto Millennium" logo, celebrating the changeover to
a new millennium. Fares on the provincially operated
GO Transit are separate from TTC fares for travel within and outside of Toronto. A "Twin Pass", which combined a Metropass with a monthly GO Transit ticket for a specific journey at a discount compared to their individual prices, was available from 1988 until 2002. In April 2004, the Metropass changed its design to a multi-colour vertical gradient, along with a different type of faux gold-imprinted "Metropass" logo (it uses the unique TTC font used in several subway stations). The colours and pattern of the gradient vary from month to month. In addition, the year was now printed in a bold font at the upper right, with the month imprinted in the same faux gold as the Metropass logo. In September 2005, the Metropass became transferable (with ID required only to prove eligibility for the senior or student fare). The printable anti-fraud box was removed and replaced by wording suggesting the transfer of the pass to others when one was not using it. Though the reverse side of the pass has always had the conditions of use printed on the reverse, it did not see much updating until the passes were made transferable in 2005, at which point a "No Pass Back" rule was added: in essence, a rider who enters the system using a pass must not hand it to someone outside the fare-paid area, which would allow both to use it at once. In February 2006, to reduce lineups at subway station fare collector booths, the TTC introduced automated Metropass vending machines (accepting payment only by credit or debit cards) at some subway stations that dispensed weekly and monthly Metropasses. These were removed and replaced by new Presto vending machines by 2018, which allowed customers to purchase a new Presto card or load money or a digital monthly TTC pass onto the electronic fare cards as part of the
Presto card rollout. In April 2006, the TTC day pass became valid all day on weekdays. The TTC redesigned its Metropasses to include custom holograms and a yellow "activation" sticker, beginning with the July 2009 Metropasses, due to widespread counterfeiting of the Metropasses between January and May 2009. In addition, removing the "activation" sticker reveals a thin film, which is used to prevent the reapplication of the sticker, and removing the film would leave a sticky residue, in which dirt, fingerprints and other particles can obscure the hologram. The thin film reads, "Do not remove," to prevent curious Metropass users from removing it. The TTC offered the Metropass Hot , in which a current Metropass user and three guests received an admission discount at various venues and events, such as
Casa Loma, the
CN Tower, the
Hockey Hall of Fame,
Ontario Place, the
Ontario Science Centre, and the
Toronto Zoo. These competed directly with
CityPASS as the Toronto version of CityPASS applies to some of the same attractions, except that CityPASS is marketed to tourists outside of Toronto, while the Metropass Hot is marketed to Torontonians. The TTC ceased offering the Metropass Hot in 2015. A less expensive seniors' monthly pass was created in the 1980s, which was valid with government-issued photo ID or TTC senior's photo ID. The concessionary pass was later expanded to cover use by high school students aged 16–19 who present a valid photo ID. While originally the student Metropass and other student fares were available only to high school students, a separate post-secondary Metropass was made available to university and college students (likewise requiring TTC-issued photo ID), starting with the September 2010 pass. Before September 2010, post-secondary institutions issued VIP Metropasses. Until mid-2018, passengers were able to sign up for the Metropass Discount Plan (MDP), which was a 12-month commitment. Users received the Metropass in the mail before the start of every month. This program was initially expected to end as of 31 December 2018 as part of the transition to the
Presto card, but due to rotating strikes by employees of
Canada Post (the service provider that delivers the MDP passes) the program was discontinued earlier than anticipated on 31 October 2018 instead and MDP passes were not sent out for November or December 2018; it has since been replaced by a 12-month pass which is only available on Presto cards and can only be purchased online via the Presto website. The Volume Incentive Pass (VIP) program allowed organizations to purchase adult Metropasses in bulk, which are then sold at a lower price than the MDP to commuters. The pass is transferable under the same rules as the weekly pass. The VIP program was cancelled and phased out on 31 December 2018. The last month for the physical Metropass was December 2018. Since 1 January 2019, a monthly TTC pass has only been available via the Presto card.
Weekly pass (2005–2019) From September 2005 until March 2019, the TTC-only weekly pass was available for use. This was a type of Metropass valid for one week on the TTC; a concession version with a discount similar to the senior and youth discount for the monthly Metropass was also available. There was no post-secondary student version of the weekly TTC pass. These weekly passes were discontinued on 31 March 2019.
GTA weekly pass (1994–2019) The GTA weekly pass was introduced in 1994 based on a recommendation of the provincial government. It was valid on the TTC, MiWay, YRT, and
Brampton Transit. It was good for unlimited travel for seven days starting at 12:01a.m. Monday until morning service started on the following Monday. It was sold at select locations starting the Thursday before the week of use, until Tuesday on the week of use. GTA weekly pass holders were not required to pay additional fares when crossing a municipal boundary between areas served by the four participating agencies. However, extra fares were required for certain "premium" and "express" routes. This program came to an end when the new four-door
Flexity Outlook streetcars entered service on the 512 St. Clair route on 3 September 2017, as operators on the new streetcars are in a fully enclosed cab, which means the operator is not responsible for fare collection and is not able to provide paper transfers.
Zone fares (1954–1973) From 1921 until 1953, one TTC fare was good for any distance within the
pre-amalgamation City of Toronto. Where routes extended outside the city, extra fares were charged. In 1954,
Metropolitan Toronto ("Metro") was created, covering most of
the city's post-1998 city limits. The TTC took on responsibility for transit within the entire area. A flat fare was not considered to be feasible for so large an area; so the TTC created the Central Zone, which roughly incorporated the City of Toronto, and set up a series of concentric semicircular rings around it as Suburban Zones 2–5, with an additional fare required for each one. Routes extending beyond the
Metro limits continued to be separate radial routes, so the zones still had the effect of fare stages, but within Metro, it became possible to change buses within a suburban zone. In 1956, Suburban Zones 1 and 2 were combined as Zone 2 and the Central Zone became the new Zone 1. During this early period, the outer zones within Metro were relatively undeveloped and bus routes in them were sparse; but as development increased, there was pressure for lower suburban fares, and in 1962, the outer boundary of Zone 2 was extended to all the way to the Metro limit. Higher fares, still on a zonal basis along each radial route, now applied only on the few routes running beyond Metro; in effect, the zone boundaries outside Zone 2 had changed from semicircles to rough rectangles. Eventually, the beyond–Metro Zones 4 and 5 were combined into a new Zone 2 and the fares coordinated with those of adjacent transit agencies, which is the system used today. In 1968, the
Bloor–Danforth Subway was extended east and west through the boundary between Zones 1 and 2, but the subway remained part of Zone 1, due to the impracticality of a payment-on-exit system. On 21 January 1973, with construction already well advanced on a similar extension of the
Yonge–University Subway, the TTC acceded to pressure to abolish the zone boundary, and all of Metro (now the
unified City of Toronto) gained service at a single flat fare. (The new subway stations on both lines in what had been Zone 2 had not been designed for the change: their bus terminals were outside of the subway's fare-paid area. The layout of some stations allowed this to be easily corrected by relocating the fare barrier, but at other stations, this was unfeasible and they were not reconfigured until a later renovation, if at all.)
Downtown Express fares (1990–2020) Separate from the 900-series express buses which charge regular fares, the TTC previously operated five rush-hour Downtown Express bus routes (141–145) serving downtown and charging a double fare. In addition to the basic fare, passengers had to pay a supplement of one ticket or token, or the equivalent value. For example, an adult could pay with two tokens, or one token plus $3.25, or $6.50 in cash. Those transferring from regular routes paid only the supplement. Effective 26 August 2019, riders could pay both fares using the Presto card. Alternatively, Presto cardholders could load a monthly Downtown Express pass onto their Presto card with the option of choosing a discounted 12-month subscription Downtown Express pass. Beginning 23 March 2020, these routes were suspended owing to
reduced ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the TTC discontinued sales of the monthly Downtown Express and 12-month Downtown Express Metropasses. By late October 2021, the downtown express routes had been delisted from the TTC customer website due to low demand.
GO/UPX co-fare (2018–2020) From 7 January 2018 until it was discontinued effective 1 April 2020, Presto cardholders had the option to receive a discount of $1.50 (or $0.55 for senior, student, and youth customers) when they transfer between the TTC and
Metrolinx's
GO Transit or
Union Pearson Express (UPX) services. The discount was available exclusively for Presto card users who used paid using their card balance. This plan was not fully carried out because , at least one priority entrance at every station has a fare lane for riders paying by cash or legacy media and most subway stations still have collectors. In 2018, the TTC had planned to phase out all legacy fare media and cash fares, eventually accepting only Presto fare media. As of 1 December 2019, the TTC discontinued the sale of legacy fare media (tokens, tickets, GTA weekly passes, and non-electronic day passes) at its remaining subway stations but continued to sell tokens and legacy tickets to school boards and social service agencies pending the availability of Presto bulk sales. The TTC also continued to sell legacy media to third-party vendors such as pharmacies and convenience stores. By February 2023, the use of legacy tickets and tokens had declined, but the TTC was still making bulk sales of legacy media to social agencies, city programs and other institutions for distribution to their clients. There were about 200 institutions receiving bulk sales. 40 percent of bulk sales were Presto tickets rather than legacy media. Between 2022 and 2023, Metrolinx transitioned the TTC's bulk sales program to Presto, which allowed social agencies and institutions to purchase Presto tickets in bulk at adult, youth and senior prices directly through Metrolinx. In 2024, the TTC estimated that 632,000 legacy tickets and 6,885,000 tokens were still in circulation. Because of the use of Presto tickets and open payment, legacy fare media represented only 0.1 percent of fare media collected. The TTC was planning to retire legacy fare media when Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West open as both lines would have limited ability to accept legacy media. The TTC had previously announced in October 2024 it would no longer accept tokens and legacy tickets after 31 December 2024. Cash fares would still be accepted. In December 2024, the TTC extended the validity of legacy fare media to 1 June 2025, coinciding with the earliest possible opening dates of Line 5 Eglinton (which opened on 8 February 2026) and Line 6 Finch West, (which opened on 7 December 2025).
Wheel-Trans customers, however, were be allowed to use legacy media until 31 December 2025. ==References==