Over 40 years ago the first agreement was signed to give GO riders discounts on transfers to and from some local transit providers.

In October 1979, the fare discount program was adopted by Brampton Transit as a trial project, providing customers with a fare discount on transfers between GO and local services.

Following the success of Brampton’s trial project, Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga and Pickering transit systems also joined the program between 1980 and 1983.

A major milestone was reached on March 14, 2022, when the Ontario government made most local transit fares free for passengers connecting to and from GO Transit outside of Toronto.

Since then, customers have been taking advantage of free transfers when travelling to and from GO Transit using local transit systems, including Barrie Transit, Bradford West Gwillimbury Transit, Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, Grand River Transit, Guelph Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, Milton Transit, MiWay, Oakville Transit and York Region Transit.

Since March 2022, customers have transferred for free over 10,855,950 times.

“The introduction of free transfers between transit agencies is a critical step towards creating an integrated and equitable regional transit network that connects communities across the region and is an important milestone in supporting the province,” said Karla Avis-Birch, Chief Planning Officer at Metrolinx.  

Metrolinx continues to work with the province and transit partners, including the TTC, to help make it easier and more convenient to choose transit first. Funded by the province, Ontario’s One-Fare program will help riders save money when taking transit.

"We know that transit riders often use multiple local services to get to their destinations,” Avis-Birch said.

"That’s why it’s so important we continue to work with municipal transit agencies and partners, using the PRESTO platform, to make transit more convenient and affordable.”  

With the inclusion of the TTC into Ontario’s One Fare Program, the region will be one step closer to a true transit network that will move riders seamlessly across municipal boundaries.

Stay tuned for more exciting news as this work progresses.