After
having difficulty buying a November monthly pass, Mike Uczciwek of
Toronto wrote a few weeks ago, “Is there a shortage on Metropasses,
or is the TTC just hording its goodies? For the third consecutive
month, Metropasses seem to sell out whenever I get to the booth.
“I've traveled
to other stations and it seems to be a city-wide epidemic. So yes, I
probably should learn my lesson and buy early, avoid lineups etc.,
but if the TTC wants to promote ridership, a nice easy way is to
just have the supplies to meet the demand.”
Back in August,
when many Torontonians were on holiday and a month before the
Metropass became transferable, the TTC sold 160,000 monthly passes.
In September the rules changed and riders bought 185,000 Metropasses.
In October, we bought 200,000 and in November, 206,000.
With 350 subway
collectors and 1,200 official vendors selling fares across the city,
few November passes were left over. Michael Anders of the TTC said,
“Theoretically we didn’t run out. In practical terms we did run out
-- because most of the collectors that people would end up going to,
didn’t have the passes available.”
He said the TTC
did forecast some demand for the new pass, but it was “significantly
higher than what we were expecting. We don't normally introduce that
many new fare products at the TTC.”
Anders said the
transit agency has a long lead time for acquiring extra passes.
Partially due to anti-counterfeit technology, there is a six month
wait. He said a special deal was made with the manufacturer and
50,000 more passes are to be available for January.
He said, “We
think we’re going to be okay in December, because demand normally
drops off significantly. Plus December is a good month for (riders
to purchase) the weekly pass because of the way the holidays fall.”
I myself will
probably switch to buying the $30 weekly pass during the month. If
you want to be certain to get a January pass, see
www.ttc.ca for details on the
Metropass Discount Plan. Sign up without delay. Or see if your
company belongs to the Volume Incentive Pass (VIP) program.
Metropasses
normally go on sale the 24th of the previous month, but I
pointed out to Anders that Christmas Eve is a bit late for those
leaving for holidays. For December only, it appears the January pass
will go on sale in subway stations by the 19th.
Post-secondary
students have had trouble buying passes through their schools, and
although the line-ups may not disappear, more passes should be
available in the new year.
There have also
been shortages of the GTA weekly pass, although that has apparently
been fixed. If your preferred fare is repeatedly sold out, consider
notifying the TTC online via www.ttc.ca
or by phone at 416-393-3030.
Alas, for those
whose pass is lost or stolen, the TTC will not replace it -- even if
you file a police report. No changes to this policy are planned.