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The TTC Offers the Tiniest of Olive Branches with Extension on Ticket Refunds

Posted by Derek Flack / January 24, 2010

TTC FaresFollowing a week of press that would have even Tiger Woods scrambling, the TTC has decided to allow riders with remaining paper tickets to refund or exchange them until the end of March. The temporary tickets -- which were offered in response to the hoarding of tokens prior to the January fare hike -- were initially set to become valueless at the end of this month.

TTC Chair Adam Giambrone positioned the decision as an example of the TTC's new commitment to customer service. Sharing the news on his twitter feed, he wrote: "TTC is listening to our customers & will NOW allow refunds/exchanges for adult tix -- just as we [do] senior/student tix."

Brad Ross, the TTC's director of corporate communications, also commented on the decision. "We had enough feedback to say okay, we need some fairness for customers who bought tickets and haven't used them for whatever reason."

Although the limit has yet to be specified, those with a large number of tickets will need to wait for the TTC to verify their authenticity before receiving a refund in the mail. Others will receive their refund or exchange immediately.

As good as this news is for those who are stuck with a heap of temporary tickets, it seems the most transparent of PR moves. It doesn't really cost the commission anything, but still allows its representatives to lay on the customer service rhetoric pretty thick.

We'll see if this willingness to heed customer feedback is a sign of things to come.

For instructions on how to refund/exchange your tickets, see the information from the TTC website below:

TTC Fare Instructions
Lead photo by AshtonPal, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Discussion

8 Comments

seanm / January 24, 2010 at 09:14 pm
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Fair enough. It was the greed of the token hoarders that brought upon the barring of token sales anyway. It's 25 cents more a ride, get over it. Paying $3 is better than carting around all those quarters for exact fare anyway.
Bardo / January 24, 2010 at 09:19 pm
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Adam Giambrone is displaying his brilliant Leninist credentials by using the deterioration of the TTC as a device to enhance the contradictions in society to such a degree that a revolution of the Proletariat becomes inevitable. I call dibs on Second Undersecretary of the Athletic Committee of Root Vegetable Processing Plant Number 7 of the South Etobicoke Soviet.
Jeremy / January 25, 2010 at 12:22 am
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Well that's good. Not giving refunds on such a short-lived fare would be silly. But why don't they just continue to let us use them along with an extra quarter to reflect the increase? That way we don't have to jam up the lines at the very small number of booths where they do the exchange.

If I have any left next month, I'll try it. The collectors in the booth rarely enforce policy anyway.
Joel M / January 25, 2010 at 12:57 am
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I really don't get why people would buy so many tickets. It was made very clear at the beginning that the tickets were going to expire on January 31. Every ticket has that date printed on them. They weren't saving anything buying tickets in bulk because they needed an extra quarter after January 3. Why the hell are people buying so many?

The TTC gets a lot of flack, but this outcry seems a bit much.

@Jeremy The reason for the expiry date is the TTC was trying to limit losses from rampant ticket counterfeiting. If they didn't expire counterfeiters would just start printing fake tickets off again indefinitely. Fake ticket plus 25 cents is still pretty good price.
Jeremy replying to a comment from Joel M / January 25, 2010 at 01:23 am
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Ah, didn't realize counterfeit tickets were a big problem. Fair enough.
Jenny / January 25, 2010 at 01:32 am
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@Joel, I bought a 10 pack but don't live in Toronto and didn't have a chance to use them all up during my visit.. so I'm glad I don't have to throw them out. It's not always about greed!
EricM / January 25, 2010 at 04:06 pm
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haha! Vote Giambrone! He will fix this!
Emil / March 3, 2010 at 06:53 pm
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I bought a 10 pack senior65+ tichets last October. Still have 4 of them.It does not say it was temporary. I live in Woodbridge and didn`t have a chance to use them,waiting for SPRING.There is no sense to go to Bloor booth to get a refund. Should I mail them to the adres above for a $6 refund?

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