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Cost of commuting to and from the 416

Denizen314

Denizen314

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I've searched for similar threads, but I couldn't easily spot one.

Currently I'm taking advantage of a living situation that has me commuting from the 905 to the 416. I did a little research to see if this was in fact beneficial to me from a financial standpoint.

Now, first thing's first. I do not plan on being out in the burbs for much longer. I believe in working where you live and vice versa. It's just that I'm really getting the better end of the deal by being out here for the time being.

So, that said, here are the stats (specific to my experience, but you can always generalize):

Monthly cost of a TTC Metropass: $109.00 + taxes
Monthly cost of a Mississauga Transit Pass: $99.00 + taxes
Monthly cost of a GO Transit Pass (From PC to Exhibition): $149.00 + taxes

Monthly cost of parking in my area: $146.90 taxes in. (Exorbitant, but you get in and out privileges - which, in Parkdale could mean any number of things I know)

Monthly cost of gas: $200.00 taxes in (I drive a small car, a total of about 40kms/day)

Without stating the exact amount that I spend for my wheels, I calculated that I spend moderately but still significantly more per month driving into the city than I would if I had to utilize public transit. But here's the kicker...

Time - Door to door, my trip into work takes me about 30-35 minutes in average traffic. Were I to take public transit, we're looking at a 10 minute walk to a Mississauga Transit stop, 30 minutes to the TTC, another 20-25 minutes from the TTC (subway) to the TTC stop I switch to, an average 5-10 minute wait for a TTC bus, and another 15-20 minutes to get to the office.

Or,... a 10 minute walk to MT, 10-15 minutes to the GO, 20 minutes to Exhibition station, and a 10-15 minute walk to the office.

So 90 minutes to get to work using the MT/TTC combo, and 60 minutes using the MT/GO combo.

The point of this thread is not what you might expect however. If anything, I think it highlights how much further the GTA needs to go in order to produce a unified transit system that makes it more appealing for commuters everywhere to leave the keys on the table (or get rid of them altogether) and get some cars off the road. Is there any reason that a person who lives within 4kms of Toronto's borders should have to make use of 3 completely separate transit systems to get downtown?

Thoughts?
 
Hi,

I work in the area too.

my commute isn't quite as far, but I use GO transit.

You can get a monthly parking pass from other garages or green P for much cheaper. The Green P lot in Liberty Village is $90 a month, in/out.

I don't blame you for driving, those transit travel times are ridiculous, and it highlights the lack of fare integration.
 
There is a level of fare integration between GO transit and Mississauga Transit.

Here's the brochure.

Basically, it's 60 cents to ride MT to or from the GO station or $23 for a monthly pass. So $172 for a month for MT and GO.
 
not quite sure if you actually pay additional taxes on top of public transit passes

but just to add in the cost for those who choose to drive to subway stations and take TTC, there will soon be additional cost related to TTC parking ...

perhaps a poll of 905 commuters to downtown would be appropriate to illustrate whether people drive to work or take public transit given the cost of public transit
 
Solaris: Start it up. :)

CDL: I didn't know that. That's actually quite helpful. Definitely a step in the right direction anyways. Now if only the TTC had a similar system in place.
 
I don't think anyone can argue that owning and driving a car is cheaper. That isn't the point. Even if time is not money, personal time is priceless. I live downtown and it takes 45 minutes via TTC, versus 30 minutes in the worst traffic (although I average 23 minutes.) Twenty minutes a day IN EACH DIRECTION is just the tip of the ice berg. Perhaps when you're 20 years old, 200 minutes a week is nothing, but trust me when I say that time does become more precious as one reaches - ahem, 29. ;)

Convenience. I can do errands on the way home. As stressful as the Gardiner is, it beats the hell out of the Bloor subway out to Kipling during any rush hour. I get a guaranteed seat. I can drink my coffee, listen to XM. I don't have to put up with other people who haven't bothered to shower this week. I don't have to listen to someone else's music cranked up through THEIR headphones. Or watch them eat their breakfast.

The TTC has a long way to go before it can compete with the private automobile for convenience and speed. Cost, it wins hands downs.

Of course, we can just sit around and do nothing until everyone takes 2 hours to get to work. That's progress.
 
Cbab,

I don't have any advice for you but I have the same quandary as you.
Drive: 30 minutes or an hour.
TTC/Mississauga Transit: 2 or 2.5 hours.
So, I drive.
If I take public transit, my Mississauga portion of the trip takes an hour and includes a scenic tour through the University Of Toronto Mississauga campus. Just imagine if you have to go to the bathroom at some point...:)

You mentioned 'working where you live'. I believe that for those of us with partners or families, it's not realistic to work and live in the same neighbourhood - one of the parties will be shortchanged eventually. Also, if any of us here at UT have anything like a semiprofessional career progress expectation, you will have to go where your career and the higher paying jobs are. I have an unmarried brother-in-law who lives and works within the boundaries of downtown Toronto (and turns down work more distant than he can bicycle) but remember I said unmarried.:p

You didn't mention the cost of your car or the insurance - these are biggies and I have minimized these by buying cheap wheels.

Obviously if you are renting now, then none of this advice applies.
 
thanks for the thoughts Dichotomy~ you make a very valid point ... if the private automobile beats public transit in terms of convenience AND cost AND time ... we have a MAJOR problem (as if this is news to TTC)

Cbab ... since this is your thread I think you HAVE TO start the poll
 
Mustapha said:
Cbab,

I don't have any advice for you but I have the same quandary as you.
Drive: 30 minutes or an hour.
TTC/Mississauga Transit: 2 or 2.5 hours.
So, I drive.
If I take public transit, my Mississauga portion of the trip takes an hour and includes a scenic tour through the University Of Toronto Mississauga campus. Just imagine if you have to go to the bathroom at some point...:)

You mentioned 'working where you live'. I believe that for those of us with partners or families, it's not realistic to work and live in the same neighbourhood - one of the parties will be shortchanged eventually. Also, if any of us here at UT have anything like a semiprofessional career progress expectation, you will have to go where your career and the higher paying jobs are. I have an unmarried brother-in-law who lives and works within the boundaries of downtown Toronto (and turns down work more distant than he can bicycle) but remember I said unmarried.:p

You didn't mention the cost of your car or the insurance - these are biggies and I have minimized these by buying cheap wheels.

Obviously if you are renting now, then none of this advice applies.
Click to expand...

I totally hear where you're coming from. The whole 'working where you live' concept is certainly an ideal, and one that not everyone can take advantage of. I just added that in there because whenever I have a discussion about this with friends of mine, the number one response I get is "Well, why don't you just move closer to work." I would, and I plan to, but I do agree with you; this is not the answer for everyone.

And yeah, I didn't mention car cost or insurance, as I believe these are things which you as an individual have better control over, and as such, there's no use complaining about them. ;)
 
Bike to GO?

Sounds like you're reasonably close to the GO station.

If you ride your bike to the GO station on most days, you would likely save a good chunk of time and money. With a folding bike, you could even take it into the city to use on that end of the trip, saving more time and TTC fare.
 
Hi Vic.

Not really. I'm closer to the Cooksville GO station, but I need to get to the Exhibition stop, which I could only do if I circled back once I got to Union in the morning. Hence the 20 min trip by foot/MT to the Port Credit stop in the morning.

web_system_map.gif


In any case, I'm not in dire straits by any stretch. I rather like my trip to work by car. The whole point is if I had to take public transit to work, the hassle involved from my location is both a financial one and a mental one.

If the cities involved would stop getting their panties in a bunch about who's paying for what, and actually make some progress towards a unified system, we'd be getting somewhere in terms of a transit system that connects people.
 
vic said:
Sounds like you're reasonably close to the GO station.

If you ride your bike to the GO station on most days, you would likely save a good chunk of time and money. With a folding bike, you could even take it into the city to use on that end of the trip, saving more time and TTC fare.
Click to expand...

GREAT IDEA

This is exactly what I do, and it is very convenient. But, my bike is currently in the shop, so make sure you get a quality bike (The Avenir is good value, but in hindsight I would have spent a bit more to get a Dahon), and TWO good quality locks.
 
RedRocket191 said:
GREAT IDEA

This is exactly what I do, and it is very convenient. But, my bike is currently in the shop, so make sure you get a quality bike (The Avenir is good value, but in hindsight I would have spent a bit more to get a Dahon), and TWO good quality locks.
Click to expand...

Even if the GO station was close enough (and Cbab has confirmed that it isn't), I don't see the point in biking just to save $23 a month.
 
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