A major roadblock preventing the creation of a more affordable and accessible York Region is their current transit policies. Following transit hikes implemented on November 17, 2016, the fare of adult transit passes increased from $145 to $154 as of 2019. These transit hikes also increased the price of adult tickets from $3.50 to $3.88, with the price of adult tickets being even more expensive if one simply pays with cash.

These fares are more expensive in contrast to the fares for transportation involving the TTC; while the TTC monthly pass is slated to be more expensive ($156 for TTC vs. $154 for the YR monthly transit pass) following incoming fare increases on March 1st, 2020. The fares for York Region transit, if PRESTO or YRT pay is used, is $3.88 for adult and $3.03 for youth, in contrast to $3.25 for adult and $2.30 for youth on the TTC transit.

According to Goretti Maria Mpaka in her 2016 dissertation Affordability, Transit, and Housing: A case study of Vivanext on Yonge Street in Richmond Hill and Newmarket; which examines the persistence of unaffordable housing and transportation prices in the York Region, many youth in the York Region find it difficult to move around the area. Especially those that do not have a driving license or any access to a car and thus would rely on public transportation more than residents that do not rely on public transportation to get around.

According to various interviewees in Mpaka’s analysis, when discussing their experiences with the York Region’s transit system, they themselves along with their clients have experienced instances of being fined by Viva enforcement officers.This occurred because they couldn’t afford to pay for the fees enforced by Viva, or they did not clearly understand the instructions for paying, which incurred fines from Viva.

The failure of Mpaka’s interviewees to understand instructions demonstrates failure on the part of Viva to provide services and instructions in an accessible manner to those that had received fines for failing to understand the instructions. Lack of affordable transportation is further worsened, according to Mpaka’s contacts, by a lack of wage increases, with residents complaining that monthly passes continue to become unaffordable for them, in part due to wage stagnation on their end being unable to keep up with the rising prices.

As a resident in the York Region myself, moving further away from Toronto and deeper into the York Region has made transportation considerably difficult, especially when transportation fees and the cost of transportation between York Region and Toronto are taken into consideration. Often, I have to take one of the buses that could link up with the TTC at Toronto from Thornhill, whether for my Wednesday French program at Seneca, or for a meeting with the organizations that I am involved in.

As York Region’s fares are more expensive than fares in Toronto, transit from York Region to Toronto has proven to be much more expensive than transit between stations in Toronto. Consequently travelling across the GTA becomes harder than when I lived in Toronto.

More expensive transit is not the only problem facing York Region residents whenever we need to take public transportation, another issue is the general inaccessibility of transit within York Region. In York Region, many residents of low income live far away from places with affordable transit. This is because, as a result of urban sprawl, many residents, particularly those seeking affordable housing, live in sprawled out suburbs that do not have transit access.

As revealed through Mpaka’s interviews with York Region residents, the more affordable housing lie further from major transit stops. By contrast, homes closer to major transit stops tend to be much more expensive. This situation is made worse by the fact that most transit investments do not go into low-income communities, but rather into further expanding transit in expensive neighborhoods. Consequently, the lack of access to transit remains unresolved.

Apart from lack of accessibility for low-income residents, transit in the suburbs is further made difficult by the long wait time in suburban areas between transit, with some stops not only needing up to an hour for transit to arrive, but also not providing any transit during the weekends. I myself live near the transit stop of 23 Thornhill Woods and Rutherford rd, which is a 10 minute walk from my home. The 23 bus, which I sometimes rely on to get to Finch station or to the North Thornhill Community Centre to exercise, takes from 45 minutes to an hour to arrive after each interval, especially after the morning.

This makes it very hard for me to get where I want using the 23 bus, and it would no doubt also make it hard for residents that can’t drive or walk for 45 minutes to utilise the Community Centre or visit the library there, as well as for high school students attending the nearby Stephen Lewis Secondary School. Long periods between transportation also results in a long wait time during the winter, which opens up the risk of frostbite and other cold weather related environmental hazards for residents waiting for transit during the winter.