Toronto is introducing fare capping for TTC riders in 2026. Here’s what you need to know

People ride on a shuttle bus outside a west-end Toronto subway stop on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

Fare capping is coming to the TTC next year, in a move Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says will make transit “more affordable” for users across the city.

In an announcement in Scarborough Monday, Chow and TTC Chair Jamaal Myers revealed that the fare capping will begin in Sept. 2026.

The process is simple. TTC riders will automatically travel for free after taking 47 trips in one calendar month.

Those 47 rides are equivalent to the current number of rides in a monthly adult transit pass, the city said.

“We’re making life more affordable for people who rely on transit,” said the mayor. “With fare capping, you pay as you go, and once you’ve taken 47 trips in a month, the rest of your rides are free. No more deciding whether you can afford a monthly pass upfront. No more overpaying if you don’t ride enough to make a pass worth it.”

A monthly TTC pass for an adult is currently $156 and $128.15 for a senior or youth, and must be paid upfront. The new fare capping allows users to pay as they go, and Chow stressed that there would be no upfront costs.

The fare cap is being done as part of the city’s 2026 budget, and Chow said she will ask the TTC to plan for a fare cap of 40 trips per month for the 2027 budget.

The new fare capping program works automatically for all riders using PRESTO, debit, or credit cards to tap on, and will be applicable to all fare types: adult, senior, and youth. It will reset at the start of each month.

“Fare capping represents a fundamental shift in how Torontonians pay for transit,” said Myers. “Taken together with Mayor Chow’s and the TTC’s board’s decision to freeze fares for the third straight year, fare capping is an important step in building a transit system that’s affordable for Torontonians.”

A third year of fare freezing was laid out in a budget preview at the TTC’s Strategic Planning Committee last month.

As a result, a single PRESTO fare on the TTC will remain $3.30, a youth ride will stay at $2.35, and a ride for seniors at $2.25.

Outside of the fare freezing, the newly announced fare caps will cost $2.9 million in the 2026 TTC budget, plus $0.6 million from the city budget.

Transit advocacy group TTCriders called today’s announcement a “major victory.”

“Riders tell us again and again that the cost of transit is a barrier to getting around the city,” said Andrew Pulsifer, executive director of TTCriders, in a statement. “Today’s announcement is a direct result of thousands of people speaking up, signing petitions, sharing their stories, and demanding a fairer system.”