Warning Signal
Arjun — $94
Spent in Week 1
Smart Setup
Priya — $31.50
Spent in Week 1
The difference between $94 and $31.50 in one week — same city, same destinations
Warning Signal
Arjun — $94
Spent in Week 1
Smart Setup
Priya — $31.50
Spent in Week 1
Arjun staring at his bank app. Day 7.
Arjun was lucky — a friend picked him up from Pearson Airport. No Uber needed on Day 1.
But after that? Every errand meant opening the Uber app and tapping his credit card. Grocery run? Uber. Mattress pickup from a store a little further away? Uber. Anything that felt more than a few blocks? Uber.
When he finally tried the TTC, he tapped his credit card at the fare gate. Convenient, he thought. Same thing as PRESTO, right?
Wrong.
Each Uber ride felt small. $8 here. $11 there. $13 for the mattress run. $9 for groceries.
By Day 7, Arjun opened his banking app. $94 in Uber charges. Plus $4.75 TTC taps stacking on top.
That's not one big mistake. That's ten small ones that never felt like mistakes — because he was paying with a credit card and didn't feel the damage until the statement arrived.
| Fare | Price |
|---|---|
| Single tap | $3.55 |
| Weekly pass | $39.50 |
| Monthly pass | $148.50 |
⚠️ TTC Post-Secondary Student fare = same as Adult. No TTC student discount.
| Fare | Price |
|---|---|
| Single tap | $2.95 |
| Weekly pass | $31.75 |
| Monthly pass | $123.75 |
| Rides/week | Discount |
|---|---|
| Rides 1–30 | 40% off |
| Rides 31–40 | 95% off |
| Rides 41+ | FREE |
📋 Register through your college — ask your academic advisor or international student office.
💳 Credit/debit card tap
$4.75
🟢 PRESTO card tap
$3.55
That's $1.20 wasted. Every. Single. Ride.
⏱️ One $3.55 PRESTO tap = 2 hours of unlimited travel.
Subway → bus → streetcar → bus again. All on the same fare. Keep moving within 2 hours and you don't pay again.
Priya also took Uber from the airport. She had just landed in a new country with heavy bags — that was the right call, and she knew it.
But she'd done her research. She knew that one Uber from Pearson made sense. Ten Ubers a week didn't.
The next morning, she went and got a PRESTO card — $6 for the card, loaded $20. Her first TTC ride cost $3.55.
But here's what made the real difference: she understood how PRESTO actually works.
Arjun didn't know this. He was tapping $4.75 every single time he switched from the subway to a connecting bus.
Priya planned her routes to maximize the 2-hour window. She ran multiple errands in one trip. She explored three neighbourhoods on a single $3.55 tap.
For longer trips — visiting a friend in Mississauga, checking out Oakville — she used GO Transit. And she knew about the loyalty discount.
Priya tapping PRESTO on Day 2.
The "It's Just $8" Trap
Each ride felt small. $8. $11. $13. By Day 7 — $94 on Uber.
That's not one big mistake. That's ten small ones that never felt like mistakes — paid on a credit card, felt invisible until the statement hit.
Pro Tip
Before you book Uber, open Lyft too. Takes 10 seconds. Prices vary by surge, time, and promos — the difference can be $4–8 on the same route. New users often get Lyft welcome discounts. Never assume one app is always cheaper.
| Arjun 🧳 | Priya 🌟 | |
|---|---|---|
| TTC fare method | Credit card — $4.75 | PRESTO — $3.55 |
| Transfer knowledge | Paid every transfer | 2 hrs unlimited on one tap |
| Long distance | Uber (full price) | GO Transit + loyalty discount |
| Uber vs Lyft habit | Uber only | Compared both every time |
| Week 1 transit spend | ~$94 | ~$31.50 |
Your program hasn't started. You have days — sometimes weeks — before the first lecture. Use them.
Get a weekly pass ($39.50) — unlimited TTC, no counting taps. Explore. Wander. Take GO Transit somewhere you've never heard of.
Once your semester starts and you have a fixed route, get the monthly pass ($148.50). No stress. No balance checks. Unlimited. Tap and go.
Transit Pass Tip: For your first month — before you have a fixed job or confirmed university schedule — the monthly pass is freedom. Worry-free travel, anytime, anywhere in the TTC network.
