[afransen]

The One-Fare program has been a great success and was long overdue but in order for GO to reach it's full potential and become a viable option for all Torontonians and not just considered a commuter route, they should make the system the same fare AND completely transfer free.

Within the City {or any other city on the system for that matter}, the fares for GO should be the same as local transit and not just a discount. The price to travel within the city should be the same regardless of the type of service or vehicle you take just like it already is with subways/streetcars/buses. Only the transit rider knows which route is best for them and they shouldn't have to pick the best one dependent upon which one they can afford.

Such a system would also bring uniformity to fares. Right now everyone knows how much it costs to go from Weston to Kennedy taking the TTC but no one off the top of their head knows how much it would cost if they wanted GO to be part of that trip.

I'm not sure how much more we need fares to be discounted. We need better transit, not cheaper transit.

 

[ssiguy2]

Yes, you need better transit but part of better transit is accessibility and for many lower-income Torontonians, GO is a luxury they simply can't afford. If everyone is paying for it thru their taxes, then everyone should enjoy the benefits of it.

Also, by having GO are just part of the standard transit fare, operational costs can be reduced on the regular bus routes. Outside of local trips, most people travelling are going to a subway station. This is why so many routes start/terminate at subway stations and then head back to where they originated. If GO was an option for everyone many of those riders would go to the nearest GO station which maybe much closer than the local subway one especially in Toronto where the subway system is rather small. This means much shorter bus trips so that 19km bus ride is now, for example, only 5 km reducing operation costs and/or an ability to increase frequency.

 

[afransen]

Yes, you need better transit but part of better transit is accessibility and for many lower-income Torontonians, GO is a luxury they simply can't afford. If everyone is paying for it thru their taxes, then everyone should enjoy the benefits of it.

Also, by having GO are just part of the standard transit fare, operational costs can be reduced on the regular bus routes. Outside of local trips, most people travelling are going to a subway station. This is why so many routes start/terminate at subway stations and then head back to where they originated. If GO was an option for everyone many of those riders would go to the nearest GO station which maybe much closer than the local subway one especially in Toronto where the subway system is rather small. This means much shorter bus trips so that 19km bus ride is now, for example, only 5 km reducing operation costs and/or an ability to increase frequency.

That sounds like a great idea, but GO can't support that additional demand as yet. Maybe this can be re-evaluated when GO Expansion actually starts to deliver meaningful capacity increase. Goosing demand at significant cost for services that are already operating at capacity doesn't make much sense. Better to focus that funding on increasing capacity. Some have suggested that the slow pace of GO Expansion is at least in part due to funding envelope (nevermind Metrolinx incompetence).