Mayor Chow promises weekly TTC fare cap after 10 paid rides

Mayor Olivia Chow promised Friday a new TTC fare cap that would give riders free trips after paying for 10 rides in a week—tighter than the current monthly system of 47 paid trips before unlimited travel kicks in.

Chow said the weekly model is affordable within Toronto's existing 2027 budget. Changing from the monthly cap to a weekly one would cost the TTC a further $12 million in lost revenue, according to projections already baked into the TTC's 2027 budget.

The move is her fourth consecutive year of frozen fares. When Chow became mayor in 2023, she said, "TTC riders had just been asked to pay more for less. I made a different choice. We froze fares. We brought service back."

The weekly cap would benefit people who work from home, take sick days, or travel less consistently. "If you work from home, get sick or go away for part of a month, you won't lose the chance to save because you missed a monthly threshold," Chow said in a statement. "This will encourage more people to choose transit, helping reduce congestion."

The current monthly cap, which launched September 1, requires no upfront payment or advance decision on how often riders will use the system. The new weekly version would let riders begin saving sooner—for an average weekday commuter, it would mean free TTC trips all weekend.