[URBAN NOTE] "Metrolinx to explore all options to save struggling Union-Pearson Express"
The Globe and Mail's Adrian Morrow looks at the issues with the Union-Pearson Express. Might it be made into a commuter line, maybe?
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the province will look at lowering fares on Toronto’s struggling airport express train and turning it into a commuter line in a bid to boost ridership.
The Union-Pearson Express, which costs $27.50 to ride one way between Union Station and Pearson International Airport, is running more than 90-per-cent empty after eight months in service. Ms. Wynne said provincial transit agency Metrolinx will consider all options to salvage the service at a meeting this week.
“There actually is a Metrolinx board meeting … and looking at the fare structure is something they’ve said they are going to do,” the Premier told reporters Monday. “I expect there will be a reassessment of not just [the fares] but some of the other issues around UP Express.”
One possibility is to encourage more daily commuters to use the train, rather than focusing primarily on business-class air travellers. The train currently makes two intermediate stops in the west end, at Weston Road and Dundas Street West.
“It wasn’t designed for [commuters], but there are two stops, there is Dundas West and there is the Weston stop, so there is the possibility for it to be used in some partial way for getting downtown,” Ms. Wynne said. “That’s what Metrolinx has to look at. They have to look at all of the options and figure out how to get more people, I mean, that’s the bottom line: How do we get more people riding the UP Express? That is self-evident that that needs to happen.”
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the province will look at lowering fares on Toronto’s struggling airport express train and turning it into a commuter line in a bid to boost ridership.
The Union-Pearson Express, which costs $27.50 to ride one way between Union Station and Pearson International Airport, is running more than 90-per-cent empty after eight months in service. Ms. Wynne said provincial transit agency Metrolinx will consider all options to salvage the service at a meeting this week.
“There actually is a Metrolinx board meeting … and looking at the fare structure is something they’ve said they are going to do,” the Premier told reporters Monday. “I expect there will be a reassessment of not just [the fares] but some of the other issues around UP Express.”
One possibility is to encourage more daily commuters to use the train, rather than focusing primarily on business-class air travellers. The train currently makes two intermediate stops in the west end, at Weston Road and Dundas Street West.
“It wasn’t designed for [commuters], but there are two stops, there is Dundas West and there is the Weston stop, so there is the possibility for it to be used in some partial way for getting downtown,” Ms. Wynne said. “That’s what Metrolinx has to look at. They have to look at all of the options and figure out how to get more people, I mean, that’s the bottom line: How do we get more people riding the UP Express? That is self-evident that that needs to happen.”