[URBAN NOTE] Chris Selley in the National Post on the cost of commuting to the Toronto Islands

[rfmcdonald]

Chris Selley's article definitely caught my attention.

TTC fares went up again this week, but few seemed to have the energy to complain — perhaps because for once, Metropass users were spared the hike. The monthly pass stays at $141.50, a jolly 20 points above inflation from 15 years ago. But here’s something novel to get mad about, courtesy of Tony Araujo, who runs a product testing lab and takes an interest in the city’s budget-making process: Did you know the cost of a Metropass has gone up far, far quicker than the cost of a ferry pass?

It is rather striking. In 2000, a TTC monthly pass went for $88.50 and a Toronto Islands ferries pass for $85. The ferry pass now costs just $92 — only 8 per cent more, a jolly 24 points below inflation. The price of a ferry pass actually dropped by $10 in 1999, from $95 to $85. Only this year will it finally crest that mark again, at $95.75.

Over that time, the price of a single ferry ticket for adults rose 45 per cent, for students and seniors 58 per cent and for children 75 per cent.

“I can’t think of a single thing, in or out of the city, in my regular life, where I spend less on it today than I did in 1998,” says Araujo. “What gives? How come this particular community is getting sheltered from inflation?”

He refers to the islands’ residents, whose Cabbagetown-cubed lifestyle, 99-year leases and ample political clout — and willingness to use it — occasionally raise lesser Torontonians’ dander. They’re wealthier than average, Araujo argues. So why are mere mortals who just want a picnic and a swan boat ride subsidizing them?