Fare increase for transit will be worth it, TTC head says

Andy Byford talks about benefits of budget increase

The fare increase for transit will pay off in the long run, TTC CEO Andy Byford says.

When asked in an interview for his response to students who struggle to pay, Byford said the investment is worth it.

He said the TTC would be looking to add more services.

“At the end of the day, we don’t like putting up the fares,” he said. “Everybody wants better transit.”

A petition was sent by Ontario students calling for the elimination of the student I.D. pass. Byford said that his team has not received the petition, but he said they would look into it.

Over $95 million will be invested in the TTC. The CEO said that there will be more service, less crowding and less waiting.

“It does come to a cost and we do have to ask our riders to pay a little bit more,” Byford said.

City Council has approved the 2015 Recommended Capital Budget for Transportation Services. The total cost is $1.071 billion with a 2015 cash flow of $463.852 million. It will cover services on the 62 new sub-projects and will continue 36 of previously approved sub-projects.

Source:  http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2015.EX3.4

About this article

By: Denice Raagas
Copy editor: Akorede Amosun
Posted: Apr 4 2015 4:29 pm
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Filed under: News