UPX ridership up, but still heavily subsidized
Metrolinx declines to release estimates of how much each ride costs the public
Ridership on the Union Pearson Express (UPX) increased during its first full year in operation with lower fares, but the provincial transit agency has declined to provide estimates for how much the controversial airport train service is costing the public.
According to figures provided by Metrolinx, the provincial agency that operates the line, 2.76 million people took the UPX during the fiscal year April 2016 to March 2017. Three-quarters of passengers were travelling to or from the airport, while the remaining riders used it for other reasons.
The ridership figures are a significant improvement compared to the air rail link’s first 10 months, when only about 747,000 people used the train.
Ridership spiked after Metrolinx decided under public pressure to slash ticket prices in March 2016.
Before that, the $456-million line between Union Station and Pearson International Airport frequently ran mostly empty cars.
Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the agency is “very pleased” with the new numbers.
“The ridership level has grown much faster than we had even hoped for,” she said.
“We will continue to promote this service, which was delivered on time and on budget, because we want to see ridership continue to grow, and because we know that once folks use it, they’ll love it,” said Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca in a statement.
However, Aikins said she could not yet disclose how much the government is subsidizing each ride on the UPX.
“Those figures are just receiving their final audit, and they will be ready in the next few weeks, and we will be releasing all of that at that time,” Aikins said.
The agency declined to provide estimates for the subsidy.
Metrolinx didn’t explicitly state the subsidy per ride in its financial reports for the first year of its operations either. But using ridership and revenue data made public in the agency’s annual report last June, the Star and other media outlets calculated that, for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, it was roughly $52.25 per trip, an enormous sum compared to Toronto public transit agencies.
A Star analysis of 2016-2017 data provided by Metrolinx suggests that the UPX per-ride subsidy in the most recent fiscal year was much lower than that, but was still high, and could approach $20 per ride.
By comparison, the TTC subsidizes its passengers at a rate of about $1per trip, while GO Transit’s subsidy is less than $1.50 per passenger.
Metrolinx didn’t confirm the Star’s estimate, but Aikins said the agency is working to lower the UPX subsidy level.
“How low we can get it, that I’m not 100 per cent sure about yet. We’re still doing studies,” she said.
Before the UPX launched, the provincial Liberals pledged it would break even within five years, a prom- ise that Aikins said is not possible under the new fare structure.
Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22, St. Paul’s), who before the UPX opened in June 2015, pressed Metrolinx to lower its fares, said it was obvious from the start that the service would never recoup its costs.
Tickets are now $9 with a Presto card, or $12 without.