Thousands of Torontonians have signed up for the city’s new discounted transit pass for low-income riders. But four months after the Fair Pass program launched, only about half of the cards are actually in use, which has advocates questioning whether the program is presenting too many hurdles for those in need.

The Fair Pass program began in April. Under its first phase, people who receive Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program payments but aren’t receiving a monthly transportation allowance of $100 or more are eligible for the concession. It’s expected to cost the city $4.6 million this year.

At sign-up clinics the organization held this spring, potential clients identified financial and technical challenges to using the pass, said Sharon Anderson, a member of the transit advocacy group Fair Fare Coalition.

“They’re not making it easy to actually use,” Anderson said.

The concession, which is administered and paid for by the city, not the TTC, is preprogrammed onto a Presto fare card, which participants can then load money onto.

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They can choose to use either the single ride option, which lowers the cost of a TTC trip using Presto from $3 to $2, or the pass option, which costs $115.50 for unlimited rides in one month. A regular monthly Metropass costs $146.25.

The city set a target of enrolling 36,000 people in the program by the end of 2018, and it’s well on the way to meeting that goal. According to the city as of July 31, roughly 22,000 people had been issued Fair Pass concessions. But the TTC said only 51 per cent of the passes had ever been used to pay for a ride.

A city spokesperson couldn’t immediately explain the high number of unused cards. She said the city is conducting a “robust” evaluation of the program, and expects results by next year.

Misty Parsons, 47, is one of the many people who have signed up for a Fair Pass but have yet to use it. An ODSP client, she gets about $1,200 a month in disability supports, but she said close to $800 of that is eaten up by her rent and phone bill. That leaves little left over to pay for transit, which she uses to get to doctor’s appointments and shop for groceries.

Parsons said the discounted pass could save her money in the long run, but “it just needs to be a better system.” She complained that the minimum value a customer can add to a Presto card is $10, an amount she sometimes doesn’t have to spare.

“Two dollars is a much better price than $3.25 (the cost of a cash fare on the TTC). But sometimes having the $10 just to put money into the card has been hard enough,” she said.

“If I want to put $2 on, or $4 on, I should be able to put that $4 on, just so I can go back and forth.”

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Anderson speculated there could be other reasons many clients have yet to use the cards.

Presto was designed to enable customers to load cards online using a credit card, but low-income residents may not have reliable access to the internet or to credit.

Presto cards can also be loaded using machines at subway and GO Transit stations, as well as at 95 participating Shoppers Drug Mart stores. But Anderson said GO and TTC locations may not be convenient for people who live far from a transit line, and customers may not be aware of the Shoppers option.

“There’s all kinds of barriers that they’re trying to negotiate all at once,” she said. An ODSP recipient, Anderson has applied for the card herself but has yet to receive it.

According to the TTC, participants have made more than 485,000 trips using the special passes since the program began. The vast majority, or just over 305,000, were bus rides.

The city plans to expand eligibility for the program next year to people receiving child care and housing supports, and in 2020 to residents in any household earning less than the low-income measure (LIM), plus 15 per cent. By 2021, it’s hoped 193,000 people will be enrolled. It’s estimated the program will cost $48.2 million annually by full roll-out.

Susan Bender, manager of the Toronto Drop-In Network and also a member of the Fair Fare Coalition, said the aim of the Fair Pass program is laudable. But she argued all three phases should be instituted sooner, and the program should provide greater discounts. She said the $115.50 cost of a monthly pass remains “way too high” for many.

“One of the most important things about this program is that it acknowledges the critical role of public transit in the lives of people who are living on low income, and how important (transit) is for people to meet their basic needs,” she said.

“But it’s not making as big an impact as it could be.”

Mayor John Tory backed the implementation of the Fair Pass, and in the early days of his re-election campaign he’s cited it as one of the measures his administration has put in place to keep life in Toronto affordable.

In response to a question about the high rate of unused passes, a spokesperson for Tory said in an emailed statement that the mayor “is extremely proud” to have implemented the city’s first transit discount for people on social supports.

“The program was introduced four months ago and city staff will continually monitor it to ensure it is as effective as possible as it matures,” she wrote.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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