UP Express price coming down: report

The cost of riding Toronto’s UP Express could drop in the coming weeks, following a recent free admission trial which saw thousands line up for hours to ride the under-used service.

The Toronto Star reported that Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins as stating that the transit agency is looking at removing “barriers” to ridership on the train (which shuttles passengers from the city’s Union Station to Toronto Pearson International Airport) including dropping the cost to board; while using the agency’s Presto card reduces the adult fare to $19, a regular adult ticket is currently set at $27.50, with students and seniors paying $23.50.

The free admission trial, held during the recent NBA All-Star Weekend, saw ridership jump to more than 10,000 and 13,500 on the Saturday and Sunday respectively; currently, the train sees approximately 2,200 to 2,500 daily passengers, half of Metrolinx first-year goal of 5,000 riders a day, The Star reported.