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Monday, January 9, 2012

Prepare to pay more. Fare increase approved

So I watched the whole board meeting.

Not a single person in the room said "Nay" when it came time to vote.

There were no measures given for how GO plans to accommodate people who are already standing on crowded trains but the board asked GO to please consider these measures the next time they ask for an increase.

There was a lot of talk about how GO's fare increase measured up to other transit systems. Like most of us have a choice?! Other than GO, I can't use another public transit system to get to work as Durham Transit doesn't service Toronto (TTC) but let's say I were to use Durham Transit to connect to the TTC. It would take me 5 hours to get to work. That's not what I call an alternative. GO knows they won't lose riders over a fare increase.

21 comments:

lswgirl13 said...

Why do I feel like there will be someone at my (and other) stations in the next few days with petitions? I'm not opposed so much to the increase (everything keeps going up and up) but more to the way it suddenly happened and has been shoved down our throats with the promise of better (haha) service.

Bicky said...

I see you were quoted in the article on the Star site, CJ. Nice!

There used to be a time where customers were given more notice for price increases. Now they announce them practically last minute.

Still fuming... best sit on my fingers before I type something I shouldn't. :o)

C.J. Smith said...

Thanks! It's true. We're getting hosed.
It's 80 cents more a day for those of us who head out of Oshawa. $4 a week which sounds like peanuts but for some families, that's a 2L carton of milk they can't buy during their weekly grocery shop.

Again, I'm happy to pay. Just address the foot riders. Call me. I have a great poster design.

Anonymous said...

Of course, they had to mess with the monthly paper passes too. "Encourage" them to change to the bug-ridden Presto system! Anything to inconvenience the customer further!

Squiggles said...

I knew it was coming, but I am still upset about the increase.

Asking the board to consider the main issues for the next time is ridiculous! They always say that the increase will address these issues and yet, in a year, these issues still persist!

And to compare the increase to the other systems? That is EXACTLY the attitude that has destroyed any good feelings toward the TTC - the sense of entitlement.

And now I am cranky :(

McDarver said...

I'd like to see a listing of those "service improvements'. Where are they posted for public viewing? Accountability? I think not.

Anonymous said...

Swith to PRESTO...no fare hike this time around!

Dakota said...

I heard (not sure if it is true) that if you have a Presto card your discount will be bigger than the monthly pass. Is this correct?

C.J. Smith said...

@Dakota

YES.

Anonymous said...

You can't have "gouge" without GO!

Should be their new motto.

lswgirl13 said...

People really seem to be anti-Presto. I signed up as soon as it started because I liked the idea of the savings compared to the 10-ride pass. I never wanted to have to fork out the money (in advance) for a monthly pass.
I'm still pissed about the increase because I truly believe NOTHING will change!

Anonymous said...

What is there to like about Presto?

With a monthly pass, I can buy it at the start of the month and forget about it.

Presto charges you $6 just to get a card, even before you travel one kilometer!

Activating it is supposed to be a headache.

You're always going to have to keep track of the balance and either start loaning GO sums of money at no interest by depositing a lot, or fussing with the balance to be sure you have enough.

You have to fumble for your card all the time to beep in and out.

You have to remember to beep in AND beep out. Forget to beep out? Too bad, maximum rate applies.

GO apparently has a history of losing deposits to the card too.

I've not heard one good thing about the system.

Squiggles said...

Not even that Anon, but there was that issue before Xmas where the auto-load feature wasn't working properly and was taking money out of people's bank accounts all the time.

That and the rounding up is all part of the reason why I enjoy the paper pass.

lswgirl13 said...

I hear ya' Anon and Squiggles but they were waiving the $6.00 fee when I got mine and like I said, I don't wanna fork out a ton of cash at one time AND I'm not always in the office. I do monitor my account online because there was a small problem in the beginning. And I NEVER load it online, I still do it at the station (no big deal).
It has a default setting so mine is from my station to Union and back so only swipe when you get on in the morning and on at night.
AND my card is registered so comes in handy if I were to lose it. What happens if you lose your monthly pass, is it traceable?

Zjack said...

>> beep in AND beep out

Really? I was told just to tap on, not to worry about tapping off... Do you travel to/from different locations? Or always the same two? If you travel to/from the same go stop all the time, maybe you need to ask them to set your default trip?

lswgirl13 said...

Yes, you don't tap off! Could you just imagine Union in the morning if people had to do that? I travel the same route every day so yes, they set my default route. I would think 99.9% of the GO'ers do their same route as well. Besides, if I had to go a couple of stops more for whatever reason and they checked, I'd bat my eyelashes and plead ignorance!

Dan-1 said...

And it gets even more fun: you need to tap on and tap off if you ride a GO bus, even if you have a default trip set.

James said...

I heard the 10 rides are history shortly after the rate change. They might be changing from zone based fares to distance based fares as well.

Dan-1 said...

James, the current zone based fare system is basically a distance-based fare system.

James said...

What I heard though is if you get on or off a GO bus between stations you would get charged differently for the distance to the stop not just the general area. The GO bus driver seemed to be worried about all the implications that would bring. Some might not know the intersection's name just I'll be getting off at the Tim Horton's for example. Then what do you charge them.

Anonymous said...

I read somewhere that the company that supplies the card and terminal service makes 8% per transaction.

8%!!!

If it's true, no wonder GO wants to raise prices. Just to recover their fares.