Toronto’s government has taken a first step toward a TTC fare discount for low-income riders.

Council voted 35-3 on Tuesday to have the TTC and city departments study the discount proposal. A “Policy Framework for Toronto Transit Fare Equity” will be submitted to council by the end of 2015 — after the next election — for another vote.

Any discount would probably not be put in place until 2017, when the Presto fare-card system is expected to be operating throughout the TTC.

The idea of a fare break for the poor has been floated in the past, but the city has never taken it as seriously. The perpetually cash-strapped TTC would have to find money somewhere else to cover the lost revenue.

“This low-income pass shouldn’t come at a cost to other riders. So other riders shouldn’t be paying more for their fares. And there also shouldn’t be service cuts in order to fund this,” said Jennifer Huang, an organizer with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council and the advocacy group TTCriders.

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Windsor, Guelph, Kingston and Hamilton, among other cities, already have discount programs for low-income residents. The specifics vary.

Hamilton, for example, offers a limited number of half-price monthly bus passes to employed local residents who receive welfare or disability payments or whose family income falls below the poverty line. The other Ontario cities do not require residents to have a job.

Poor Torontonians disproportionately rely on transit to get to work. Huang said she knows of “many low-income Torontonians who aren’t able to afford transit that have to make a difficult choice between buying food and paying for tokens.”

The Presto cards will allow the city government to experiment with specialized fare categories the antiquated current system doesn’t allow.

“Smartcard technology will allow for a wide range of fare-pricing options that could not be accommodated previously,” the city and the TTC said in a joint report. “For example, fare prices may be linked to travel time, peak/off hours, distance, or vehicle type. Moreover, the Presto cards could also be linked to a low-income rider’s registration in a discount transit fare program funded by the city or through a partnership with an external organization.”

Council also voted 35-3 to look at additional fare reductions for seniors, who already pay lower fares than other adults.

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Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby (Etobicoke Centre), who voted against, said she is worried the discount system will require “horrendous” bureaucracy. She is also concerned about the financial implications.

“When (seniors) get a lower fare,” she said, “who’s picking that up? You? Me?”