Ontario has launched its One Fare Program today, enabling transit riders to pay a single fare when traveling between the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and other regional transit services including GO Transit, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, and York Region Transit.
The One Fare program promises big savings for commuters, potentially up to $1,600 annually for an adult commuting five days a week. The program aims to make public transit a more attractive option, encouraging people to opt for transit over personal vehicles for various travel needs, including work commutes, attending events, or visiting family and friends.
“Ontario’s One Fare Program makes transit a more appealing option not only for residents but also for the millions of visitors to our region each year,” says Andrew Weir, Executive Vice President for Destination Toronto, in a statement on Monday.
Gone are the days of being charged double fares for riders. They are now only charged the more expensive fare when travelling between two systems.
“Most visitors to Toronto arrive by air and don’t have a car. Fare integration makes their travel within the destination easier and also encourages visitors to explore more of our region so that more communities benefit from the impact of visitor spending,” added Weir.
Passengers can now tap their PRESTO card, credit or debit card, or use PRESTO in Google Wallet to automatically apply the program’s savings. There is still no PRESTO card support for Apple Wallet yet, nor support for Express Mode. We’ve reached out to Metrolinx for an update and will update this story accordingly. You can still pay with contactless using Apple Pay, but iPhone users are still left out from native mobile wallet support.
Update: A Metrolinx spokesperson told iPhone in Canada in statement, “At this time, the mobile wallet option for PRESTO is only available on Android devices. We are working to add support for additional platforms in the future. Stay tuned for more information.”
