[rbt]

More I think about this, it actually makes some sense politically for a 416 GO RER fare to be in the $3 to $3.50 range for a typical downtown trip.

The big differences are parking and much higher off-peak usage which drives GOs $20k/seat cost down significantly. If they charge extra for parking (as TTC will be doing via Presto) and adjust loading standards so a typical 416 rush-hour trip will be standing the added subsidy may not be all that high.

I could see Wynne subsidizing Hybrid, moving GO 416 fares down to TTC fares (all go RER fares drop 25% to 50%), then letting the next conservative government push fares up. $200M/year for significantly reduced GO fares won't be hard for the province to find as the RER capital program winds down if Ontario tax revenues increase as expected (2.5% or better; 2014/2015/2016 meets this rate).

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I think Metrolinx is going to push for the hybrid system, because it's likely to make riding the subway as expensive as GO travel in the 416.
The hybrid option would be very difficult to implement since the majority of subways user arrive by bus.

That would be so incredibly contentious that that I don't think Metrolinx would dare to attempt it. We already see councillors ramping up the rhetoric against it

 

[TheTigerMaster]

What I am curious about is how a distance-based (or quasi-distanced based, by the way of zones) system for the subways will affect usage patterns in the longer run, in the presence of RER. Incidentally, it may undercut the rationale for subway extension in the burbs.

AoD

The provincial government isn't to pleased about subway extensions into the suburbs. Outside of the 416 their focus is RER. It's why the YNSE is going nowhere.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The provincial government isn't to pleased about subway extensions into the suburbs. Outside of the 416 their focus is RER. It's why the YNSE is going nowhere.

I don't know about that, given the Spadina experience - hell they are the ones who insisted upon it.

AoD

 

[TheTigerMaster]

More I think about this, it actually makes some sense politically for a 416 GO RER fare to be in the $3 to $3.50 range for a typical downtown trip.

The big differences are parking and much higher off-peak usage which drives GOs $20k/seat cost down significantly. If they charge extra for parking (as TTC will be doing via Presto) and adjust loading standards so a typical 416 rush-hour trip will be standing the added subsidy may not be all that high.

I could see Wynne subsidizing Hybrid, moving GO 416 fares down to TTC fares (all go RER fares drop 25% to 50%), then letting the next conservative government push fares up. $200M/year for significantly reduced GO fares won't be hard for the province to find as the RER capital program winds down if Ontario tax revenues increase as expected (2.5% or better; 2014/2015/2016 meets this rate).

You're suggesting a $200 Million per year additional subsidy for GO Transit?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I don't know about that, given the Spadina experience - hell they are the ones who insisted upon it.

AoD

Different premier.

 

[Zach6668]

yes and no. Plenty of riders don't pay taxes, or very little taxes. And taxpayers like me are rare riders. Don't mix the two.

What the hell are you talking about? Anybody who has a permanent address pays taxes, whether it's directly or indirectly. Renters pay taxes bundled into their monthly rent payment.

 

[JayBeeGooner]

What the hell are you talking about? Anybody who has a permanent address pays taxes, whether it's directly or indirectly. Renters pay taxes bundled into their monthly rent payment.

Wow. That's the rationale for pushing zoned based fares? Transit rider don't pay enough taxes. That's some level of ignorance on KSun's part.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Different premier.

Not convinced the current one would be any different, considering SCC extension.

AoD

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Here we go:

Want to pay more for the subway? We’re raising the alarm about Metrolinx’s secretive fare scheme

Transit riders cannot trust Metrolinx
http://www.ttcriders.ca/want-to-pay...alarm-about-metrolinxs-secretive-fare-scheme/

 

[Palma]

That would be so incredibly contentious that that I don't think Metrolinx would dare to attempt it. We already see councillors ramping up the rhetoric against it

for once I hope these councillors earn their wages and fight for Toronto

 

[Palma]

The provincial government isn't to pleased about subway extensions into the suburbs. Outside of the 416 their focus is RER. It's why the YNSE is going nowhere.

then they should never have funded the Spadina extension either

 

[salsa]

Here we go:

Want to pay more for the subway? We’re raising the alarm about Metrolinx’s secretive fare scheme

Transit riders cannot trust Metrolinx
http://www.ttcriders.ca/want-to-pay...alarm-about-metrolinxs-secretive-fare-scheme/

"TTCriders requests for a meeting with Metrolinx staff about fare integration have been ignored. "

Probably for the better.

 

[salsa]

Other key points:

1. Poor Scarborough.

"Metrolinx’s fare-by-distance scheme could really hurt riders, especially low income riders in Toronto’s outer neighbourhoods, such as Scarborough."

"It makes no sense to create a two-tiered transit system where the poor are priced-out of fast transit and are left stuck on the buses."​

2. "Why should riders who have to travel long distances on less reliable transit have to pay more just to get to work?"

Right, why shouldn't long distance riders pay more accordingly?


3. Metrolinx not trustworthy --> UP Express rant.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

The UP Express fiasco really hurt Metrolinx's credibility. I've been hearing a lot of, "we can't trust Metrolinx because of UPX" lately. It exposed how much political meddling there is within the agency,