Possibility of 10-cent fare hike dismissed

Yuni Kim
Assistant News Editor
Good news for student commuters.  The 10-cent Toronto Transit Commission fare hike proposal presented to the City of Toronto Jan. 11 was scrapped merely a day later after city hall officials stated the funds they’d need to make up for possible deficits would come from some where else.

To make up for the budget, city managers and the TTC are planning to work together to come up with a combined $24 million by creating efficient service and encouraging more citizens to use Toronto’s public transit.
Amid suspicions from other councilors that the sudden cancellation of the fare hikes was a premeditated move to put Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in a positive light, Ford’s camp insists this is not true.
“The mayor’s very happy there will not be a 10-cent fare hike for TTC riders,” Ford spokesperson Adrienne Batra told the press Jan. 11. “It’s really unfortunate that certain coun- cilors are suggesting that.”
Though he expressed relief at the fare hike cancellation, Krisna Saravanamuttu, president of the York Federation of Students (YFS), also expressed disappointment that such a proposal existed in the first place.
“I was a bit shocked by the proposal,” said Saravanamuttu. “I have to say that it would detrimentally impact the people who are most marginalized in our city […] I don’t understand how they could fathom such a thing.”
TTC Fares Then & Now
1980    $0.60
1985    $0.95
1990    $1.20
1991    $1.30
( THE FARE SPIKE )
1992    $2.00
1995    $2.00
2000    $2.00
2005    $2.50
2010    $3.00
Today ? $3.00
With files from the Torontoist