No free rides: winners and losers of the TTC U-pass

Abstract

This paper explores the financial gains and losses for students from the U-Pass scheduled to be implemented by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) at universities in Toronto, Ontario in fall 2019. The U-Pass offers students unlimited travel on the TTC for $70 per month, but students are unable to opt-out. Toronto already has high existing student transit ridership and fares that are not integrated across municipal boundaries, setting a context in which U-Pass impacts different students in different ways. This study uses data from the 2015 StudentMoveTO survey to determine the financial losses and gains from students across different campuses, commute modes, and geographies. Students that benefit live within the City of Toronto and use TTC to get to school, while those expected to experience welfare losses either live outside of Toronto or live close enough to their campus to walk or bike to school. 1. An article about U-Pass in Toronto, used the key words: transit fares, student travel, equity