Distance-based transit fares might be coming to Toronto

If you regularly use multiple transit services, such as the TTC and GO, to get around Toronto and the GTA, you'll be happy to note that Metrolinx is working away at integrating fares for GO and across the nine different transit agencies in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.

As the Toronto Star reports, Metrolinx has been working on this integration project for a few years, and at a meeting on Friday, it will float a new fare structure concept: fare by distance.

Metrolinx hasn't made any final decisions yet on how to integrate fares, but the new distance-based option could see customers paying per kilometre they travel.

The Star notes that this might help make short GO transit trips within the city seem more attractive. It's unclear how this plan would affect the TTC, which currently lets riders pay a flat fee no matter how far they have to go on the subway, bus or streetcar.

For its part, the TTC has mulled the possibility of implementing peak and off-peak fares, though it won't do so until the PRESTO rollout has been completed.

In order to implement a distance-based fare system, Metrolinx would also require that PRESTO be fully available across the entire transit system.