At its board meeting on July 10, the Toronto Transit Commission finally approved two hour transfers for passengers paying by Presto. This is great news that has been a long time coming.
The TTC expects that the new policy will cost $21 million a year by 2020, but it will also boost ridership by 5 million passengers. The new two-hour transfer policy will allow a passenger using a Presto card to board any vehicle or enter any subway station within two hours of the first tap without paying a second fare. This will allow anyone to make a short return trip on one fare, or make a stopover before transferring to another route. Customers of most suburban transit systems such as MiWay, Brampton Transit, and YRT have enjoyed the same privileges for over a decade.
The policy takes effect Sunday, August 26.
I’ve argued here before why two-hour transfers are necessary. If a passenger taps onto another vehicle on the same route, a common occurrence due to delays, short-turns, and diversions/shuttles, the Presto Card will deduct a second fare. That has happened to me several times, even when making a valid transfer between a bus and Union subway station. It’s often confusing when the TTC tells its passengers to take a paper transfer when a diversion takes place, or tells its customers not to tap again on a bus or streetcar when they’re short-turned. The new policy finally fixes those errors for good.
However, the transfer policy does not apply to customers paying by cash, tickets, or tokens, so the old archaic paper transfer rules will still apply to many TTC customers.
The TTC is slowly phasing out paper media and passes, but still has yet to implement daily, weekly or monthly caps that will effectively replace day, weekly and Metropasses. There will also need to be a paper Presto card equivalent developed for occasional and one-time customers, such as tourists or anyone who doesn’t want to pay the $6 fee for a plastic card. Hopefully the details of how these will be implemented will be decided and communicated in the near future.
Sean Marshall 
5 replies on “Two-hour transfers are finally coming to the TTC”
About bloody time TTC. Calgary Transit has had timed transfers for … well, as long as I remember, but only for 90 minutes. If one can do a round-trip in that time, all the power to them. The simplicity factor is huge for customers, and the reduction in administration should also help a bit on the bottom line. Realistically, all transit systems should be implementing this across the board.
“This will allow anyone to make a short return trip on one fare”
Be careful what you write. I dot think that was the planning purpose of the 2 hr transfer by any transit system. Pick up something on your way / pick up a kid etc/ wait for someone etc. as part of the transfer on your route YES.
I disagree. On my copy of the 2005 Brampton Transit map – the year the route structure was changed significantly – there was a note about the new 2-hour transfer introduced, which touted the short return trip on one fare as a benefit. The TTC itself comments on the new ability to complete quick errands without paying an additional fare.
Click to access 1_Introducing_a_Two-Hour_Transfer_Policy.pdf
I suspect that few riders will make a return trip on a single fare (I rarely took advantage of it when I lived in the 905), but there’s no way to prevent it with an unrestricted two hour fare, anyway, so why not tout it as a benefit?
Hi Sean, I really want the TTC along with other GTHA transit agencies such as Oakville Transit, MiWay Mississauga Transit, Brampton Transit, YRT/VIVA, Durham Regional Transit to fully eliminate all cash fare payments on-board all surface vehicles and routes across these networks entirely sometime in the future as part of the phase out of legacy fare media, its safer for drivers, safer for passengers, cuts down on distractions, fare disputes, cuts down on those assaults to transit drivers and can facilitate all-door boarding with random POP compliance checks with the addition of PRESTO fare card readers at the centre and rear doors as well. Transit drivers should no longer be responsible for handling or monitor cash fares anymore or giving out transfers they should just be drivers, solely focusing on the task of driving the vehicle and the roads (like they already do on the new TTC streetcars), only enforcement officers should do those random spot checks for POP what do you think Sean? I really want to see this happen sometime in the future. Let’s say this altogether, “NO MORE CASH ON THE BUS”, “NO MORE CASH ON THE STREETCAR”, only PRESTO should be accepted as a method of payment for all transit vehicles. Cash should only be accepted at various automated vending machines such as at TTC subway stations, or from various retail stores or transit centres in the GTHA where riders can buy a paper Presto card equivalent for occasional and one-time customers, such as tourists or anyone who doesn’t want to pay the $6 fee for a plastic card.
Here is an article on the rationality on why i’m calling on several GTHA transit agencies including the TTC that its time to fully eliminate all on-board transit vehicle cash fare payments entirely, and deploy a full-fledged POP all-door boarding on the entirety on all of these transit networks with only PRESTO accepted as fare payment. http://torontomyway.blogspot.com/2008/12/time-for-ttc-to-use-honour-system.html