A brief history of the Metropass
April 1978: TTC tests a monthly pass product, and finds the 107 customers who bought a pass increased their transit use by up to 20 per cent.
April 7, 1980: The first Metropass goes on sale. At a price of $26, users must take more than 52 rides to make the pass worth it, which one Star letter writer describes as a “paltry offering” from the TTC.
May 1, 1980: A 17-year-old University of Toronto student named Tim Moseley becomes the first person to use a Metropass, according to the Toronto Sun, entering the subway with it at midnight.
Oct. 29, 1980: Moseley is awarded a year’s worth of Metropasses when he wins a contest by taking 212 trips on the TTC in a single day. “It was no fun,” he told the Star.
January 1984: The first Metropass for seniors goes on sale, at a price of $24.
1990: The TTC replaces the paper Metropass with a plastic version
November 1991: The first student Metropass goes on sale, for $42.50. It is later merged with the senior’s pass in 2005.
2005: The TTC makes the Metropass transferable, allowing riders to share it with another user.
September 2010: The first post-secondary Metropass goes on sale, for $99.
2016: Thinking it would be the final year of the Metropass, the TTC issues commemorative passes that form an image when the entire 12-card set is assembled.
Delays to Presto push would mean the Metropass lasts another two years.
Dec. 31, 2018: After more than 78 million sold, the TTC will end use of the Metropass.