Olivia Chow proposes new weekly TTC fare cap, vows to freeze fares again in re-election bid - Toronto Star

Chow made the announcement at a campaign stop in Scarborough Friday morning. 

Olivia Chow, speaking here at an Aug. 5 event, promised that she would freeze TTC fares a fourth year in a row.

Olivia Chow is proposing a new weekly TTC fare cap, if re-elected, where riders would only need to use the TTC system 10 times during a week before they can ride for free the rest of the week, she announced at a Scarborough campaign stop Friday morning. 

Chow also promised that she would freeze TTC fares a fourth year in a row.

“No monthly pass, no big payment up front. Ride more, pay less,” she said.

“That’s money you can use to pay your bills, that’s money you can keep in your pocket.”

Riding the transit system a certain number of times before it’s free is called fare capping.

On Sept. 1, the TTC launched its fare cap that lets people ride for free after they pay for 47 trips in a calendar month — a new initiative Chow frequently points to as a way her administration is trying to make Torontonians’ lives more affordable.

The fare cap policy is available to riders no matter whether they pay with a Presto card, credit card, or tap their phones. It will cost the TTC and the city $3.5 million in the final months of 2026. The TTC has previously estimated that over a full year, it would cost the agency $10 million and attract an extra 3.6 million riders.

However, the TTC’s monthly pass is priced at $156, which is roughly the equivalent of the cost of 47 Presto adult fares.

Chow has directed the TTC to come back with a plan to lower the fare-capping threshold to 40 monthly trips for 2027, which would cost about $35 million per year.

The municipal election is on Oct. 26.

This is a developing story. More to come.

Mahdis Habibinia is part of the Star's city hall bureau, based in Toronto. Reach her via email: mhabibinia@thestar.ca