York University students are voicing their outrage after York Region Transit and Viva announced late last week that they will be cancelling service to the university this fall, forcing many commuters to pay a second fare to transfer to the TTC.

Celia Lewin, a York University student, says the move will “give riders the impression that the YRT and TTC are not committed to meeting the goal of providing affordable and convenient transportation for people residing in Toronto and the GTA.”

“They provide a valuable public service, but it seems that their real aim is to generate profit,” Lewin added.

As of Sept. 2, YRT and Viva Purple and Orange lines will no longer be travelling to York University. Students are now expected to take the YRT to Pioneer Village Bus Terminal, after which they are to transfer to the TTC and take Line 1 to York University station.

The closure is the result of a binding agreement between the TTC and YRT to avoid duplication of service as the TTC’s Line 1 extends into Vaughan, according to YRT. But for many students, it means having to pay two transit fares on one journey.

Students could also walk from the bus terminal to the university, which takes approximately 20 minutes — an option Lewin points out may not be viable once winter arrives.

YRT general manager, Ann Marie Carroll, said in a statement to the Star that the YRT is making this change in relation to a 2009 agreement between the TTC and York Region in regards to the construction of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway.

“At the time of the 2009 agreement, it was anticipated the Province would have a fare integration solution in place before the opening of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension into York Region,” Carroll said.

“Recognizing a fare integration solution would not be in place to coincide with the subway opening, and in an effort to avoid students having to pay two fares when travelling from York Region or the City of Brampton into the City of Toronto, YRT, TTC and Brampton Transit Züm proposed to York University a universal pass (U-pass) that would have provided students unlimited travel on all three systems, during each semester, for one low price.”

Carroll said it was York University’s decision not to proceed with the U-pass, saying that they said they felt a student referendum wouldn’t be a success.

“In turn,” Carroll said, “YRT staff did meet with the York University’s Federation of Students who declined the implementation of the U-pass in 2018 and expressed their position was to wait and see what the Province would implement in regards to fare integration.”

In preparation for these changes, YRT advised that students are still free to use GTA weekly passes, which allow travel throughout GTA transit for $63 per week.

For a month, those weekly passes are $100 more expensive than a YRT pass.

The TTC’s six-station extension of Line 1 opened in December 2017.

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“We are hopeful that transportation service providers in the region are able to make fare integration a reality as soon as possible to reduce any unnecessary financial burden on York’s community members, especially our students,” York University said in a statement to the Star.

“This change is a step back,” said Dennis Bayazitov, graduating student and communications-marketing assistant in the Faculty of Education. “To some, the best thing about attending York is access to transit — I honestly think that the transit system is why students have this relationship with York. It’s a commuter school.”

With files from Ilya Banares