For many of the thousands of employees who work out of Pearson International Airport, the new rapid transit rail line would shave over an hour off their commute.

If only they could afford it.

It would cost an airport customer service agent about two hours’ wages if Metrolinx goes ahead with a one-way fare of $20 to $30 dollars for the publicly funded Union Pearson (UP) Express. With just two stops between Union Station and the airport, the trip will take 25 minutes.

“This isn’t public transit, this is transit for the 1 per cent,” said Sean Smith, mobilization co-ordinator for Unifor Local 2002, a union that represents 5,000 workers at Pearson, which is run by the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.

Metrolinx has said the airport link should not be considered public transit because it is aimed at business executives at a cost comparable to the Toronto Airport Express bus, which costs about $27, but will stop service Oct. 31.

“This train serves absolutely no purpose for us … you go to any other city and the rail link is public transit, not half a billion dollars funding a private train for the bankers,” Smith said.

Most of the airport’s 40,000 total employees live in Peel region, but he estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 workers come from Toronto.

“It’s the workers who are going to the airport every day. If you ride the TTC, the 192 Rocket (bus route) is packed all the time and it not just people with suitcases. It’s flight attendants, it’s passenger agents, it’s all the support people who work there, the security staff and concession workers,” said Air Canada flight attendant Joyce Nakanishi, who lives on the east Danforth and makes six one-way trips a week to Pearson, which would cost up to $180 weekly on the new rail line.

“Flight attendants are up in arms about it,” she said, adding she worries relying on business travellers will mean the trains are running at less than capacity. “We pay so much in taxes to pay for services we are not going to be able to afford. That’s crazy to me.”

If the fare was $10, if monthly passes were available or employee discounts offered, Air Canada flight attendant Ole Harder would take the express train.

But at $30, “I can’t justify it,” he said. He’ll continue to take the hour-and-a-half commute from his apartment at Richmond and Sherbourne Sts., “taking transit that’s often overcrowded and overloaded.

“Meanwhile, there will be this direct, 15-minute train to the airport that will be completely empty.”

Provincial transit agency Metrolinx is building the rail link at a cost of $456 million and anticipates 5,000 daily riders. The final fare has not been announced. City Councillor Josh Matlow plans to introduce a motion at next week’s council meeting asking his colleagues to take a stand against the steep price and the $2 parking fee likely to be tacked on.

Both the business model and equity considerations are concerning, Matlow said.

“The irony is that the very people who work at the airport every single day will find the only rapid transit link to their workplace is unaffordable to them. That’s just folly,” he said.

The eventual fare pricing will “include variable price points for families, seniors, children and frequent users,” said a statement from Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins. It also said the agency is undertaking a study of the airport to evaluate future and current transportation needs of employees and travellers.

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That won’t help Saul Santiago get to his early-morning shift. He sometimes starts as early as 3:30 a.m., before the subway starts running. His partner drives him in the morning and he takes the TTC home, which takes an hour and 45 minutes.

“I think it’s unfair if (the rail link) is only made for some population,” said Santiago, who has worked at an Air Canada counter for over a year and lives just blocks from Union Station.

“It’s a good job, but it’s not like I get a lot money out of it,” he said. “I really hope they do it affordable for people like us.”

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