New 'One Fare' program begins today in GTA. Here's what you need to know

A new integrated public transit fare system is launching in the Greater Toronto Area on Monday for riders transferring between GO Transit, the TTC, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, and York Region Transit.

A new integrated public transit fare system is launching in the Greater Toronto Area on Monday for riders transferring between GO Transit, the TTC, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, and York Region Transit.

A long-time and delayed promise of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the new "One Fare" initiative aims to provide people with “more transit options and more convenience,” he said at a recent news conference.

It also has the goal of addressing fare duplication on the TTC, which was excluded when the province eliminated double fares on most of Ontario’s transit systems in March 2022.

The One Fare program is expected to save public transit riders on average $1,600 a year in fares, the province said.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Riders who make a trip on any of these systems (GO Transit, the TTC, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, and York Region Transit) must pay the highest single fare associated with their trip, but will be charged a reduced fare when they transfer to another system within a designated two- to three-hour timeframe.

“That means someone living in Barrie, you take a Barrie Transit bus to the GO Station, ride the GO Train to here, Downsview Park Station, and take the subway to the (Toronto Metropolitan University) campus, all with one fare,” the premier said during a Feb. 5 news conference.