(Un)fare increase

Tyler McKay | Contributor
Rishav Panda | Contributor

Featured Image: The bus loop stands cold and empty with the arrival of a harsh winter and departure of GO busses. | Fatema Ali

It has been three weeks since the GO busses have left campus, and students and faculty members alike have criticized this change. 

Effective January 5, GO busses stopped servicing the York campus. Students that use the GO bus now stop at the Highway 407 Station, where they have to use the subway to travel the rest of the way.

“I am always at least 10 minutes late to class because of the subway. If I want to be on time for school, I have to get up much earlier, but that means I am also 30 minutes early for my class,” says Lyn-Aleccia Dinh, a third-year environmental studies student.

Roger Keil, a professor from the Faculty of Environmental Studies and the York research chair in global sub/urban studies, says: “The university is better connected than ever; however, the trip to school became longer and more expensive for what seems to be a substantial group of transit users getting to York. This hurts the students in particular. Student mobility is our StudentMoveTO initiative, and we hope to have some results on this in the future.”

On January 24, the TTC board voted in favour of raising the price of tokens and PRESTO adult fares by 10 cents. TTC spokesperson Kadeem Griffiths referred to the TTC budget presentation that stated the fare hike will create a $26 million increase in revenue.

The transit fare hike will not only have an impact on campus commuters, but will negatively impact the city of Toronto. Keil says: “The timing of this fare hike is cynical, as people are struggling with delay after delay from the system that is asking them to pay more.”

To aid in remedying this problem, Keil prescribes a major government funding boost for transit, saying: “Transit is the lifeline of the modern city.”

The TTC has a history of increasing fare prices, according to second-year engineering student, Joe Xu. “I’m concerned about the history of the TTC raising prices. In 2015, the cash fare rose, and in 2016 it did so again. I fear that the TTC will not remedy their root problem of balancing their own books, and continue increasing fare prices as their history has shown,” he says.

When asked about potential discounts for students affected by this fare hike, Griffiths says: “We value our relationship with all our customers. We are responsive to student needs, which is why we have the post-secondary monthly pass available for purchase on PRESTO.”

The pass costs $116.75, and offers unlimited monthly travel on the TTC. It can be purchased online or at any PRESTO fare vending machine. However, students are required to purchase a student identification card from Sherbourne station in order to apply a student rate to their card.

Despite the criticism received for this decision, York still hopes to see the return of GO to campus. “York is committed to sustainable commuting, including public transit. We will continue to advocate on behalf of our community—especially our more than 50,000 students, to see that the transportation agencies treat fare integration as a top priority,” Yanni Dagonas, deputy spokesperson for the university, says.

So far, over 17,500 people have signed YU Ride, a petition created by YFS, which was created with the intention of keeping the GO busses from leaving campus.