Commuters who rack up rides on the TTC are getting a break under the transit agency's monthly fare capping system, which took effect Sept. 1, 2026.
Under the program, a rider who pays for 47 trips in a single calendar month using the same Presto card or the same contactless credit or debit card rides free for the rest of that month. Passengers with a post-secondary student monthly pass or an adult 12-month pass are excluded from the cap, since those products are already discounted.
The details of the program are laid out in Wikipedia's overview of TTC fares, which also documents the rules that govern how riders pay across the system.
For frequent riders who don't hold a monthly pass, the cap effectively creates a ceiling on what they can spend in a month, similar to the way a pass works, without requiring an upfront commitment.
Two-hour transfers remain in place
Single fares paid with a Presto card, a contactless bank card or a one- or two-ride Presto ticket continue to include a two-hour transfer from the first tap. Within that window, riders can board and exit TTC vehicles and subway stations as many times as they like, even reversing direction, without paying again. If the transfer expires mid-trip on a vehicle, the rider can finish that trip without a penalty.
Fares vary by rider. Children 12 and under ride free, youth aged 13 to 19 and seniors 65 and over pay concessionary rates, and post-secondary students and low-income riders in the Fair Pass program receive discounts. Contactless credit and debit payments, accepted since August 2023, are charged at the adult Presto rate and don't support concessionary fares.
What GTA riders outside Toronto should know
Several TTC bus routes cross into Mississauga and York Region. Riders paying by Presto or bank card must tap a second time when getting off after crossing the municipal boundary to validate their transfer. Under the One Fare program introduced in February 2024, no extra fare is charged if that tap-off happens within two hours, or within three hours if GO Transit was part of the trip.
Single-use Presto tickets carry more restrictions outside the city. They're valid at all subway stations, but on surface routes they can only be used within Toronto's limits — including both sides of Steeles Avenue — plus Pearson Airport and the Viscount and Renforth stations in Mississauga. They can't be used on TTC bus routes operating west of the airport or north of Steeles, where a MiWay or York Region Transit fare is required.
Unused Presto tickets expire 90 days after purchase, though bulk tickets bought by non-profits for free distribution last five years.
Presto contract nears its end
The fare system behind all of this is itself in transition. The TTC's Presto contract with Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, took effect in 2012 and expires in 2027, after which the TTC is free to adopt a different fare system. The TTC adopted Presto under provincial pressure, including the threat of reduced provincial funding, and pays Metrolinx a 5.25 per cent commission on Presto fare revenue — estimated at $50 million for 2019.
The two agencies still have unresolved disputes over promised Presto features. A 2019 TTC report on distance-based fares and rush-hour premiums made no mention of those ideas, which had been under consideration four years earlier.
