February 2021
The TTC’s two hour transfer may be its most innovative change in decades and one likely to resonate with condo dwellers. Pay your fare with Presto and receive unlimited use for two-hours.
Introduced in August 2018, this is expected to add five million additional trips a year including three million new customer trips. At an annual cost of $20.9 million Hop On Hop Off is expected to increase ridership while allowing individuals to do more on each trip.
TTC users pay one fare and make multiple trips when using their Presto card. Transit users can make a brief stop on the way to or from their destination without having to pay an additional fare. The Presto card serves as a transfer without requiring the rider to re-enter the transit system at a designated transfer point.
Hop On Hop Off is one of numerous innovations implemented to make it easier to choose transit rather than an automobile. Presto allows for noncash payment when previously exact change; or prepaid token, ticket or pass was required. Entry through front and rear doors means servicing more people, shorter stops and less travel time. Automated turnstiles at subway entrances have virtually eliminated entry lines.
These innovations are facilitated by smart use of technology. Fewer people staffing subway entrances and more entry points rely on an honour system that is proving ineffective. A growing number of emboldened individuals are finding ways to sneak through the system without paying their fare. Unless the TTC finds a way to resolve these abuses, a growing number of users will simply fail to pay the required fare before using transit thus increasing the cost to the majority of honest users.
