Why Free Transit?

What Is Free And

Accessible Transit?

Public transit should be a right for

all people in the city. Using subways,

busses and streetcars in Toronto should

be fee of fares. Transit users are

not ‘customers’. Mobility is not

a commodity to be bought and

paid for by individual users. It is

an essential right, like public education,

libraries, water, doctors and hospitals.

It should be funded by government revenues.

Transit should be accessible to everyone

who needs it. That means

regardless of their income, which

part of the city they live or work in, or if

they are living with disabilities and have

particular physical challenges. All of us

would be able to travel anywhere within

our city when we need to.

Can you imagine how empowering

it would be to go where you need to be,

when you need to be there, not just on an

overpriced ride to and from work or the

occasional appointment or family event

– but where you need to be and who you

need to be with, any time of the day or

evening?

What Do We Mean By

Accessible Transit?

At $3 per fare, transit is becoming

too expensive for poor and

working people. For disabled

workers, a ride that normally takes 1

hour takes 3-4 hours on Wheel-Trans.

Wheel-Trans riders also get “demerit

points” for missing the bus. Most

buses and streetcars are not accessible

for people with disabilities

or for many seniors. Only half

of TTC subway stations have elevators

but they are often out of service

How Could We Pay For

It?

A fairer tax system would provide

enough revenue to pay for fare-free

transit. The provincial and federal governments

would have to contribute their

fair share of funding to Canada’s largest

city. The amount of taxes that

riders would have to pay would be

lower than the amount they spend

each year on the cost of commuting

today. Right now, government subsidize

roads and highways that cars use.

With a fare-free transit system, we could

save on the costs of environmental

pollution and diseases caused by

our current dependence on private cars.

We need to make our tax dollars benefit

the common good.