Is a discounted TTC fare in the cards for low income transit riders? It could very well be thanks to a 35-3 vote from city council to put the idea up for study by city staff and the TTC. The three dissenting councillors were Glenn De Baeremaeker, Lindsay Luby, and Peter Leon.

With the report not due until 2015, implementing such a system is still years away even if it wins final approval from city council. Voting in favour of conducting a report is, of course, very different from voting to further subsidize a transit agency that's already well underfunded. The TTC, for its part, is happy to participate in the study, though it has no interest in covering the lost revenue that would result from a discounted fare.

The other complicating factor is how exactly such a discounted fare might be rolled out. Some councillors support a reduced rate only at down times on the system. And with Presto unlikely to be rolled out en masse until 2019, there will likely be some hesitation to roll out a special time-of-travel-based fare until that system is in place. So right now it's just a socially progressive idea, but one that's guaranteed to be discussed by council next year.

What do you think? Can Toronto afford to offer special fares for low income residents?

Photo by Mike Campbell