UPX ridership rates soar after fares fall

Airport train attracting 5,000 riders a day since prices were slashed, Metrolinx reports

Cutting the price in half has bought the Union Pearson Express train twice the riders, according to Metrolinx.

A week after the provincial agency cut fares by more than half, early estimates show that ridership is holding steady at about 5,000 a day.

Before the price drop, the UPX was only drawing about 2,000 to 2,200 riders daily. Ridership reached a monthly high of 79,010 in October, but then dwindled to just 65,593 in November.

Last Wednesday, the first day of the new prices, 83 per cent of UPX riders were air travellers. The other 17 per cent were commuters, said Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins. Staff counted about 5,300 boardings that day and that’s held steady since, she said.

Forty per cent of Wednesday’s riders were also first-time UPX users.

“Thursday and Friday were a lot of March Break travellers, so ridership was even higher than the first day,” Aikins said.

A more precise count of revenue ridership takes about six weeks, she said.

Metrolinx approved the lower fares last month after Premier Kathleen Wynne said the number of empty trains — the UPX runs every 15 minutes in both directions between Union Station and Pearson — was unacceptable.

Tickets were slashed for Presto card holders from $19 to $9 and from $27.50 to $12 for cash or credit card customers. Discounted fares and airport employee pass prices were also reduced.

“It’s really quite heartening to watch the trains leave full and we often send out completely full trains so staff are very pleased,” said Aikins, who works at the Metrolinx head office at Union Station.

Some critics, however, say the new prices are still too high. Former Weston NDP MP Mike Sullivan said the publicly funded train that was built for $456 million and priced for business travellers should cost the same as a TTC fare.

Price is clearly a big factor in attracting more riders, but Metrolinx is also still working on improving signage to direct riders to the UPX and the lack of a direct connection to the train from the TTC’s Dundas West Station on Bloor St. remains a “pain point,” Aikins said.

Metrolinx officials have said it will take five years to build a tunnel between the two stations because of the need to expropriate property.

The ridership is a bright spot for the agency that was facing criticism again this week for the $40,000 cost of its uniform designs.

The designs were part of a $4.5million creative services contract with Winkreative, reported in the Star last year.

At one point Metrolinx staff proposed spending about $23,000 to be part of a Toronto fashion show. But when the agency decided that a fashion show wasn’t part of its transportation mission, it backed out.

Metrolinx was, nevertheless, left with $8,475 in costs for uniform materials related to the show.

“UPX retained the samples and staff currently use them for training and presentations,” said Aikins.

In a statement, Metrolinx said it “will be working with the Ministry of Transportation to ensure value for money. We concur that our focus should be on planning, building and operating transit.”

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said he had already expressed his concerns with Metrolinx chair Robert Prichard, adding that the agency should work with the ministry’s chief administrative officer “to ensure ongoing value for money.”

“I am confident that moving forward there will be an exclusive focus on delivering on our important mandate,” said Del Duca.