Metrolinx votes to hike GO fares for longer trips by 5 per cent

Morning Update: Possible GO fare hike It could cost more to rise GO transit as a 5 per cent fare hike will be debated Thursday.

Metrolinx has voted in favour of a five per cent GO Transit fare hike for longer trips at its monthly meeting on Thursday.

The provincial agency’s board of directors voted in favour of increasing the fares by 40-60 cents per trip across the system.

Fares for short distance trips were frozen, while Presto card users will see a larger discount in the new year.

The fare hikes will begin Feb. 1, 2016.

The following hikes for adult single fares will go into effect:

To encourage GO Transit riders to purchase Presto card passes rather than paying single fares, the discounts for trips paid for by Presto card will increase by 1.15 per cent on each level. Presto pass users will save between $0.06 and $1.51 per fare.

Under the current rates, adults with Presto passes pay $7.74 to travel between Union and Meadowvale Stations, a discount of $0.86 (10 per cent) from the single fare rate of $8.60.

Starting Feb. 1, cardholders will pay $8.17, a discount of a discount of $1.03 (11.5 per cent).

A single adult ticket for $6.75 will cost a Presto pass user $6.00. A ticket for $7.05 will cost a cardholder $6.26.

The increases are expected to raise an estimated additional $24.1 million in new revenue in the first year, the proposal said.

The increase will be used to fund new service improvements, as well as offset increasing costs of operating contracts.