Getting Around Toronto: The TTC, PRESTO and How Fares Work

Three modes, one agency

The subway is the spine of the network. It carries the highest volumes, and the bus and streetcar routes are arranged to feed it. Where two subway lines meet you get the busiest interchanges in the system, and those are the points where crowding concentrates.

Streetcars run on rails set into the roadway and share space with traffic. That has two consequences worth knowing before you ride one. A streetcar is affected by congestion in a way that a subway never is, and because the rails are fixed, a blocked or failed vehicle obstructs the whole route, so replacement bus service during a diversion is routine.

Buses reach everywhere the rail network does not. Toronto’s bus network both feeds stations and provides cross-town links that bypass downtown entirely. That matters more than visitors expect: because the rail network funnels toward the core, a journey between two outer areas can be slow if you plan it through the centre.

Because the network is three modes stitched together, a route that looks simple on a static map can be slow in practice. The TTC publishes a trip planner and a service advisory feed, and both are worth using on the day of travel rather than the day before, because construction and event diversions are constant.

How the fare system works

Toronto charges a single fare for a trip on the network rather than pricing by distance. What you pay depends on how you pay and which fare category you qualify for, and the categories are defined by the TTC: adult, youth, senior, post-secondary student, and the Fair Pass programme for eligible lower-income residents. Discounted categories generally require identification or a reduced-fare card.

Several payment methods are accepted: a PRESTO card, a single-use PRESTO Ticket, a contactless Interac debit or credit card including a card in a mobile wallet, or cash. Cash is exact fare only and no change is given.

The TTC also operates a monthly fare cap. Tap the same payment method every time and, once you have paid for a set number of eligible fares in a calendar month, the rest of your trips that month cost nothing. Cash fares and PRESTO Tickets do not count toward the cap, and switching between cards or devices can split your travel across two separate totals.

• Fares, fare categories, discounted eligibility and the current cap are published on the TTC’s fares and passes page, and they are revised periodically.
• Discounted fares are not available from a simple tap of a credit or debit card; they require the right PRESTO product or a reduced-fare card.
• Paying by card or PRESTO is what makes your fares count toward the monthly cap, so a cash habit costs more than the fare difference.

Transfers and proof of payment

When you pay with a PRESTO card, a PRESTO Ticket or a contactless debit or credit card, the two-hour transfer is applied automatically. Tapping the same card, ticket or device again inside that window does not charge a second fare, whether you are entering a station, boarding a bus or streetcar, or boarding at a surface light rail platform.

Cash works differently. A cash fare buys a continuous, one-way trip and comes with a paper transfer, which you ask the operator for on a bus or take from a machine on a streetcar or at a station. A paper transfer is valid at transfer points on the day it was issued, but it does not carry the two-hour window.

Either way, your fare product is your proof of payment. The card, ticket or paper transfer you tapped or collected must be shown on request, and fare inspection happens on vehicles and inside stations.

The PRESTO card

PRESTO is the reloadable fare card used across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and it exists in two forms: a physical card and a digital card held in a mobile wallet. The TTC publishes the fee for a physical card and the arrangement for the digital version.

Cards can be obtained and loaded in several places, which is useful if you arrive without one:

• Fare vending machines in subway stations, and at Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West stations, issue and load cards.
• Participating Shoppers Drug Mart locations and other customer service outlets sell cards and single-use tickets in person.
• Cards can be ordered and loaded online, and the PRESTO app can load a card and check its balance.
• A limited number of free PRESTO cards are distributed through selected Toronto Public Library branches.
• Autoload and Autorenew can keep a card topped up, or a 12-month pass renewed, without a manual step each month.

Regional travel and One Fare

Toronto is not isolated in fare terms. Under the One Fare arrangement a rider pays once when connecting between the TTC and several neighbouring transit systems, including GO Transit and the agencies serving Brampton, Durham Region, MiWay and York Region. You tap on and off with the same payment method across the whole journey.

One Fare applies to PRESTO cards and to contactless Interac debit or credit cards. It does not apply to cash or to PRESTO Tickets. A TTC paper transfer issued for a cash fare is also generally not accepted by other agencies, with a small number of long-standing exceptions on specific routes.

Accessibility and Wheel-Trans

Wheel-Trans is the TTC’s door-to-door accessible transit service for people with temporary or permanent disabilities. It is not a turn-up-and-ride service. Eligible customers apply through the Wheel-Trans self-registration portal, are placed in an eligibility category, and then book trips in advance through the self-booking website or the Wheel-Trans mobile app. There is an appeal route if an application is refused.

On the conventional network, the TTC publishes accessibility features for buses, streetcars and subways, an Easier Access programme for making stations step-free, and its compliance reporting under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. An advisory committee, ACAT, advises the TTC board on accessible transit and holds public forums.

• Wheel-Trans runs a Community Bus service and a Family of Services arrangement that lets customers travel on the conventional network with support.
• A Support Person Assistance Card allows an eligible customer with a disability to travel with a support person, and a CNIB Transit Card serves eligible CNIB customers.
• Accessibility on a rail network is only as good as the station you actually use, so check the specific stations on your route and look for lift outages on the day.