[URBAN NOTE] "Ridership Has Tripled on Toronto’s Union Pearson Express"

[rfmcdonald]

Torontoist's Sean Marshall reports on increased ridership on the Union-Pearson Express, aided by lowered fares.

Union Pearson Express (better known as UP Express) is the 16-month-old rail connection between Pearson International Airport and Union Station in downtown Toronto. It launched on June 6, 2015, a month before Toronto hosted the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. The train makes stops at Bloor and Weston stations as well as Union Station and Pearson airport. Trains depart every 15 minutes, and take 25 minutes to complete the trip from Union to Pearson.

The rail link, which was originally pitched as a private-sector service, cost the government $456 million to build.

At the time, the one-way fare between Union Station and Pearson airport was set at $27.50, or $19.00 with a Presto card. Discounts and special fares were available for families, airport workers, and same-day return trips.

In June 2015, UP Express had an average daily ridership of 2,858; in July, the average daily ridership was 2,383. Metrolinx expected that daily ridership would grow to 5,000 within a year.

Instead, ridership declined after the Pan Am Games; the average daily ridership bottomed out in January 2016, when only 1,967 passengers a day took the train, or 12.6 passengers per train operated that month. On Saturday, January 23, a mere 1,174 persons rode the UP Express, less than the daily ridership of the TTC’s 74 Mount Pleasant bus.