TTC two hour transfers

The TTC is launching two-hour unlimited transfers this weekend

One price, two hours, as many rides as you want.

Time-based transfers are like an all-you-can-eat buffet, but for public transit — and they'll officially be a thing in Toronto as of Sunday morning.

On August 26, TTC riders will get the right to hop on and off any bus, subway or streetcar line as many times as they want to within the span of two hours for just $3.25, as promised.

This means you can hop on the streetcar for 10 minutes, hop off to grab a coffee, and hop back onto the next streetcar that comes through without paying two fares.

Take the bus to an appointment, take the same bus home again. Hit the subway line and boot across town. Walk a bit, get back on, get off again, who cares? It all costs the same amount of money.

The only catch is that you'll need a Presto card — but what else is new?

"The two-hour transfer is a new feature that will be available to PRESTO card customers only," reads the TTC's website. "With this transfer customers will be able to hop on and off the system and switch directions any point in their journey, within two hours of their first tap."

Riders will still need to tap a Presto card reader every time they board the bus, streetcar or subway, but they won't be charged within two hours of the first hop on.

"When the two hours runs out, you will be charged another fare and the two hour time frame will start again," explains the TTC. "The two-hour transfer does not apply to ticket, token or cash customers."

We've known that this was coming since November, when the TTC Board greenlit two-hour transfers after more than a decade of piloting them on St. Clair Avenue.

It's all part of a five-year Ridership Growth Strategy designed to boost Toronto transit usage and, hopefully, the amount of money coming in to the TTC.

Transit officials hope that the $21 million program will boost ridership numbers by about 5 million new customer trips each year by 2020, but all we know for certain right now is that paper transfers are on the way out.

Confused? The TTC released a nifty new animated video on Monday morning to explain how everything works.

Lead photo by

d_a_f_f_y_d


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