After months of discussion, and in part due to some unfortunate incidents, the TTC has officially decided to phase out adult tickets in favour of the all-mighty token. This news came in a whisper in mid-June, as some people (myself included) didn't even realize the change had taken place. TTC Authorized Ticket Agents, such as local corner stores and Shoppers Drug Marts, quietly stopped selling adult tickets on June 29th.

While it's still possible to purchase tickets from TTC stations until September 6th, and the last day to officially use tickets isn't until September 29th, it is unknown if/when the TTC plans to distribute tokens to Authorized Ticket Agents. According to TTC Spokesperson Brad Ross, this will probably be the plan, but in the meantime, passengers who rely on non-station purchases will be out of luck.

While most people will be unaffected by the shift, (only an estimated 15% of fares are from ticket sales) it will definitely be an inconvenience to those who predominantly use the TTC away from the subway lines on bus routes (i.e. those in the suburbs).

My next concern would be whether or not phasing out the tickets in the fall will only play into a plan for an easier TTC adult fare increase in late 2008 or early 2009. Without tickets to exchange, a fare hike would go much more smoothly, and with concern about rising fuel prices, a fare hike may play all the more nicely for next year's budget demands.

Image: Token Service by blogTO flickr-pooler PDPhotography