The TTC has voted in support of a fare hike Tuesday afternoon. Public transit officials say a fare hike is likely to make up for a $100 million shortfall in the city's 2010 operating budget.

TTC officials have also voted to support a motion by TTC Chair Adam Giambrone that called for a discount to all students in Toronto. College and university students will now receive the same discount on a Metropass that high school students currently receive.

Under the proposed fare changes, the following fee hikes would take effect on Jan. 3, 2010:

  • Regular adult fare, from $2.75 to $3
  • Tokens, from $2.25 to $2.50
  • Adult Metropass, from $109 to $121
  • Student Metropass, from $91.25 to $99
  • Children, from $0.70 to $0.75
  • Seniors, from $185 to $2
  • Day pass, from $9 to $10 

In some cases, the increase was not as high as what had been recommended in the report.

One University of Toronto student said she'd welcome the additional discount. She said the schools in her Quebec hometown pay for student Metropasses.

One commuter told CTV Toronto he didn't know if he could afford the new prices.

"It's going to be a hardship for me because I don't make a lot of money," he said as he was leaving St. George Station.

Danyl Sobolev, a commuter, protested the fare hike at city council. He told CTV Toronto the price increase is unfair considering the level of service at the TTC.

"Three dollars for what? For service that is erratic and unreliable? For streetcars that are few and far between? Three dollars for buses that are so packed?"

TTC officials say the price hike will put in an additional $45 million into the city's coffers.

"No one wants to pay more for transit but we've heard it clearly from other levels of government that they are constrained and that it's likely there is not going to be any large increases in the commission's budget," Giambrone told reporters. "Our other option is to cut service and I'm not prepared and evidently the commission wasn't prepared to consider that."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said the province will not be giving the TTC a financial bailout.

"They've got to make their own decisions," he said during a news conference at Queen's Park. "What we have to do is ensure that we continue to provide support to transit users and public transit generally in Toronto. We have done that and we will continue to do that."

With files from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding