Ontario scrapping local transit fares for many GO riders, but no deal yet with the TTC

Ontario is scrapping some local transit fares for riders using GO Transit to connect to and from their local systems and is increasing discounts for youth and post-secondary students.

As the province eliminates fees for licence plate renewals and removes tolls on Highways 412 and 418, the government is also making public transit cheaper, Associate Transportation Minister Stan Cho announced Tuesday, three months ahead of the June election.

Starting March 14, local transit in some communities will be free for riders connecting to and from GO Transit on municipal transit systems.

It applies to Durham Region Transit, Milton Transit, Grand River Transit, Guelph Transit, Oakville Transit, MiWay, Brampton Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, Burlington Transit, Bradford West Gwillimbury Transit, York Region Transit, and Barrie Transit.

Cho says discussions with the Toronto Transit Commission are ongoing.

As well, discounts for youth aged 13 to 19 and post-secondary students riding GO Transit and UP Express will increase to 40 per cent off the full adult fare, which the government says is almost double the current discounts. 

In a statement Tuesday, Opposition NDP Transit critic Tom Rakocevic called on the Ford government to extend fare integration to everyone, saying TTC users should not be excluded from the plan. 

"For two years, Torontonians and everyone who commutes into Toronto daily have been paying extra because Doug Ford cut TTC-Go Transit fare integration back in 2020. At a time when the cost of living is skyrocketing, making commuting more expensive for anyone who commutes to and from Toronto was wrong," he said.

Rakocevic said the NDP has long called for a flat fare across all municipal Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area transit systems, and will "continue to fight for affordable, dignified transit."