Fair Pass Transit Discount Program

*Amounts are subject to change and based on TTC fares using PRESTO payment.

In 2016, Toronto City Council voted to establish the Fair Pass Program as part of the Toronto Poverty Reduction Strategy, outlined in the staff report Fair Pass: Transit Fare Equity Program for Low-Income Torontonians. The Fair Pass Transit Discount Program is being implemented in phases and is subject to annual funding by Toronto City Council.

To apply you must:

• Be between 20 and 64 years of age*
• Live in the city of Toronto
• Have a PRESTO Card Number
• Have a total after tax family income (for all family members over the age of 18) below 75 percent of the the Low-Income Measure After-Tax (LIM-AT) threshold

Provide one of the following as proof of income:

• Income documents for you and any family members 18 years old or older, as outlined in the Required Documents tab
  OR
• Program identification number for recipients of:
  • Ontario Works (OW) 
  • Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
  • Toronto Children’s Services Child Care Fee Subsidy

*If you are between the ages of 13 and 19 or 65 and up, see TTC Fare Types  for details about youth, student and seniors fares.

Income Eligibility

The program uses 75 per cent of the Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Measure After-Tax to determine income eligibility.

• Residents currently receiving assistance from Ontario Works (OW), Emergency Assistance, and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) meet the financial eligibility criteria
• All other residents, including Child Care Fee Subsidy recipients, meet the financial eligibility criteria based on their family size, if their net annual family income is below:

*Family size is defined by the Statistics Canada Census Family definition  which includes up to two generations of immediate family members who are living together.

**Total annual net income will only be calculated for family members aged 20-64. The income threshold is 75 per cent of the Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Measure After Tax  (LIM-AT). LIM-AT changes annually based on the latest available data provided by Statistics Canada. The LIM-AT was updated in February 2026 to reflect LIM-AT 2023  data.

You do not need to provide any proof of income documents if you are receiving financial support from any of the following programs:

• Ontario Works (OW)
• Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
• Toronto Children’s Services Child Care Fee Subsidy

Proof of Income

If you are not actively receiving services from the programs above, proof of income is required for all household family members.

If your first name, last name and address is also displayed in your income document and matches your application; no additional documents are required to verify identity and address.

Acceptable proof of income documents:

• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):
  • Current year Notice of Assessment or Proof of Income Statement (must include name, address, tax year and page with line 23600 income)
• Employment Insurance (EI):
  • My Current/Recent Claim page from your My Service Canada Account
• Canada Pension Plan (CPP):
  • Payment Information page from your My Service Canada Account
• Old Age Security (OAS), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS)
  • you must submit current year Notice of Assessment to prove your income.
• Pay stub(s):
  • for the last 30 days
• Letter of Support:
  • If you do not have income or do not have proof of income documents, a signed letter from a representative of a social service provider or religious institution that lists all household family members and verifies address and family income (see Letter-of-Support-Guidelines-and-Template  for further details).

Proof of Address

You must live in the City of Toronto to be eligible for the Fair Pass Discount. For individuals who have no fixed residential address or cannot safely disclose their address (see Access TO), you may provide a letter of support with an alternative Toronto address such as where you access services (e.g. a local shelter, community space, hospital, or government office).

If the address displayed in your income document (or letter of support) matches the address you provide in your application, no additional documents are required.

If your income document does not include your address, one proof of address document for the household is required. You do not need to provide proof of address documents for every family member.

Acceptable proof of address documents (if required):

• Ontario Driver’s License
• Ontario Photo Card
• Current Bank Statement
• Current Utility Bill
• Lease/Rental Agreement
• Current Child Tax Benefit Statement
• Mortgage Statement
• Property Tax Bill
• Current Canadian Pension Plan Statement
• Current Old Age Security Statement

*City staff will assess whether submitted documentation is sufficient for verification to determine eligibility. You may be notified by email requesting for additional document verification if it is deemed insufficient.

You are encouraged to apply online for the Fair Pass Transit Discount. The Human Services Integration Office also supports applications by phone for Social Assistance recipients, access to language interpretation, and paper applications upon request by calling 416-338-8888.

To Apply Online

1. Provide your PRESTO card number
2. Provide an email address
3. Provide your Toronto address
4. Enter information for yourself and each family member living with you, if applicable (spouse or partner, child(ren), or parent(s) and sibling(s)).
5. Program identification number if you are an active recipient of Ontario Works (OW Member ID), Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP Member ID) or Toronto Children’s Services Child Care Fee Subsidy (Household/ Client File Number)
   OR   
   1. Proof of income documentation
6. Program specific details (names of all family members)
7. Receive an email upon application submission with a confirmation number
8. Receive an email notification about the outcome of your application

If your first name, last name and address is displayed in your income document and matches your application; no additional documents are required to verify identity and address.

If your application has incorrect or missing documents, you will receive an email with a unique upload token to re-submit documents within 30 days. Please note that any missing documentation will increase the processing time of your application.

Apply for Fair Pass

To Apply by Phone

If you apply by phone, you must:

1. Provide your PRESTO Card Number
2. Provide your Toronto address*
3. Provide information for yourself and each family member living with you, if applicable (spouse or partner, child(ren), or parent(s) and sibling(s)).
4. Provide income information for yourself and all immediate family members aged 20 to 64
5. Provide Required Documents for yourself and all immediate family members aged 20 to 64 within 30 days
   1. If you provide an email address, you will be emailed a Document Submission link where you must enter your unique token number and confirmation number prior to uploading your Required Documents
   2. If you do not provide an email address, you will be provided with a fax number during your phone application where you must fax your Required Documents. You must provide a phone number where you can be contacted regarding the outcome of your application

Once the Required Documents are received, staff will review and assess your eligibility. If you provide an email address, you will receive an email notification about the outcome of your application. If you do not provide an email address, staff will contact you at the phone number you provide during your application to inform you of the outcome of your application.

Activating Your Discount

• You will receive an email notification once the Fair Pass discount is applied to your PRESTO Card Number.
• If you have a physical PRESTO card:
  • You must tap your card on any PRESTO device 24 hours after receiving this notification, but within 30 days, to activate the discount.
  •  If you don’t complete the activation within 30 days, the discount will be dropped from your PRESTO card. If this happens, you must call the Human Services Integration Office at 416-338-8888 to have the discount re-applied to your PRESTO card.
• If you have a digital PRESTO Card (PRESTO in Mobile Wallet):
  •  Your discount is ready to use 24 hours after receiving an email notification.
  •  No activation is required.

Using Your Discount

• The PRESTO card is not transferable and is intended for the approved Fair Pass discount cardholder only.
• The discount will only work on Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) vehicles, including Wheel-Trans. The discount is not valid for any travel with a PRESTO card on other transit systems or UP Express.
• The discount will save you 36 per cent on each adult PRESTO fare and 21 per cent on each TTC Monthly Pass you pay for using your PRESTO card. For monthly passes, the discount will be applied at the point of purchase for unlimited travel for the month.

Maintaining Your Discount

• Your Fair Pass discount is valid for 12 months (see Renewals section below).
• If your PRESTO Card Number or email address has changed, or you are being charged a full fare when using the TTC, please contact the Human Services Integration Office by calling 416-338-8888.
• All Fair Pass clients are encouraged to register their PRESTO card by creating a My PRESTO  account. With an account, you can confirm your discount and how long it is valid, load and check funds, and report a lost card.

Discount Renewals

Automatic Renewals will be discontinued in 2026 and more details will follow as they become available.

If you are an existing Fair Pass client, and your discount was not automatically renewed, you will be required to submit a new application to confirm your eligibility.

Physical PRESTO Card

Once you receive the email that your renewal was successful, please wait 24 hours to activate and apply the renewal onto your PRESTO Card Number. You will have 30 days to complete the activation process by tapping your physical PRESTO card on any PRESTO device.

Digital PRESTO Card Number

If you have a digital PRESTO Card Number (PRESTO in Mobile Wallet), the discount will automatically be applied 24 hours after receiving the email that your renewal was successful.

The Fair Pass discount can be applied to only one PRESTO Card Number. Toronto residents must provide their PRESTO Card Number to complete a Fair Pass application.

How to Get a PRESTO Card Number

You can choose to get a physical PRESTO card or a digital PRESTO card (PRESTO in Mobile Wallet). For more information, please visit www.prestocard.ca  or https://www.prestocard.ca/en/about/presto-in-mobile-wallet/google or https://www.prestocard.ca/en/about/presto-in-mobile-wallet/apple .

Physical PRESTO Card

You can buy a new physical PRESTO card for $4 and load funds or purchase a TTC monthly pass on your PRESTO card through the following channels:

1. Shoppers Drug Mart 
2. Fare Vending Machines 
3. Self-Serve Reload Machines 
4. prestocard.ca 
5. Customer Service Outlets 

Digital PRESTO Cards (PRESTO in Mobile Wallet)

Make sure that you have the Apple Wallet or Google Wallet app installed on your mobile device.

If you already have a physical PRESTO card, you can choose to convert it to a PRESTO in Mobile Wallet Card in the PRESTO app.

You can get a new PRESTO in Mobile Wallet card through the PRESTO app, your Apple Wallet or your Google Wallet.

If you get a new PRESTO in Mobile Wallet card through the PRESTO app while signed into your PRESTO account, it will be added to your account right away. If you get a new PRESTO in Mobile Wallet through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, it will be an anonymous card until you register it to your PRESTO account using the PRESTO app.

For more information on PRESTO, please visit https://www.prestocard.ca/en/support/faqs .

How to Activate a New Physical PRESTO Card

Only physical PRESTO cards need to be activated. You have the following options to activate your physical PRESTO card:

• Activate your card online  
• Activate your card through PRESTO’s Chat feature by logging into your PRESTO account , or
• Activate your card by calling PRESTO at 1-877-378-6123 and following the automated instructions .

Once you activate it, your PRESTO card will be ready to use right away.

Replacing a Physical PRESTO Card

When replacing your physical PRESTO card: PRESTO can transfer your old card’s remaining balance and your Fair Pass discount to your new card if you have a My PRESTO Account, but you must still notify the Human Services Integration Office of your new PRESTO Card Number before your discount expires. If you do not have a My PRESTO Account, you will need to call the Human Services Integration Office at 416-338-8888, so the Fair Pass discount can be applied to your new card.