From September 1, 2026, the TTC caps what you pay each month. Once you have made 47 paid trips in a calendar month with the same card or device, the rest of that month’s rides are free. Fares themselves did not go up: the 2026 budget froze them for the third year in a row.
What the fare freeze means
A freeze holds the price of a single ride where it was. The TTC’s 2026 budget release describes it as the third consecutive year without a fare increase, with prices staying at their 2023 level. The adult PRESTO fare is $3.30, the youth fare is $2.35, the senior fare is $2.25 and the Fair Pass fare is $2.10.
All this sits inside a larger budget. Combined, the TTC’s 2026 operating budget is about $3 billion, up 6.8% from 2025, and its capital plan runs to $16.7 billion through 2035. Nearly 200,000 extra service hours are added too, with money set aside for World Cup operations and $19 million more for Wheel-Trans. So the City is holding fares while paying for more service, and property taxes and provincial and federal money cover the gap rather than riders.
How the cap works
The TTC calls it monthly fare capping. It applies to Adult, Youth, Senior and Fair Pass customers who pay with a PRESTO card, PRESTO in a mobile wallet, an Interac debit card or a credit card, including cards stored in a phone wallet. Wheel-Trans customers with an eligible payment method are covered too.
A paid trip is the first tap that starts a two-hour transfer period. Tap again within those two hours and it counts as the same trip, not a new one. Your count starts fresh on the first day of every month.
Two rules catch people out. First, you have to use the same card or device all month, because trips on a second card or phone are counted separately. Second, you still tap at every boarding after you hit the cap, even though nothing is charged.
The cap in dollars
The cap is 47 paid trips at your fare. At the adult PRESTO fare that comes to 47 times $3.30, or $155.10 a month at most. The same arithmetic gives the other groups a ceiling too.
- Youth: 47 times $2.35 is $110.45
- Senior: 47 times $2.25 is $105.75
- Fair Pass: 47 times $2.10 is $98.70
These ceilings are our own multiplication from the published fares and the 47-trip threshold. The TTC does not list a dollar figure for each group on the pages we read, so check your PRESTO account for the exact amount.
A worked example
Take an adult who rides to work twice a day, 22 days in a month, and takes two other trips on the weekends. That is 44 plus 4, or 48 paid trips. The first 47 cost $155.10 and the 48th is free. Ride only 44 times and you pay $145.20, which is under the cap, so nothing changes for you.
A heavier user shows the benefit better. Sixty paid trips in a month would cost $198.00 at $3.30 each. With the cap the bill stops at $155.10, a saving of $42.90.
The TTC fare cap calculator lets you enter your own trips per week and see where you land.
What happened to monthly passes
Most monthly passes ended on August 31, 2026. That covers the Youth, Adult, Senior and Fair Pass monthly passes, and the Youth and Senior 12-month passes. Adult 12-month pass subscribers and people with a Post-Secondary Monthly Pass can carry on with those, and the TTC says they still give the best value for those riders.
The cap replaces the pass for everyone else. You no longer pay up front and hope you ride enough. You tap as you go, and the price stops rising when you reach the cap.
What comes next in 2027
The TTC’s budget release said the threshold falls from 47 trips to 40 in 2027. We did not find a separate Council or TTC Board page confirming the final 2027 number, so treat 40 as the announced plan and not a settled fare rule. If it holds, the adult cap would be 40 times $3.30, or $132.00, assuming fares stay frozen.
Fitting it into a household budget
Transit costs are easy to compare with a car once you count everything. Put the cap next to fuel, parking and insurance in a budget calculator, or check what your commute does to the total in the Toronto cost of living calculator. Related tools: the Toronto Parking Cost calculator, plus all our Ontario work and family calculators.
Sources
- TTC, monthly fare capping is here
- TTC, recommended 2026 budget adds service while addressing affordability
- TTC, monthly fare capping launches September 1
Common questions
When does TTC fare capping start?
Do I still tap after reaching the cap?
Does switching cards reset my count?
Are TTC fares going up in 2026?
Last reviewed: . Figures come from the official sources listed above. How we check the numbers and our editorial policy.