Currently, students attending college or university in Toronto are required to purchase a separate piece of ID annually for a cost of $5.25 in order to use the TTC Post-Secondary Student metropass.  Not only is this unfair to students already paying a generous amount of money for the metropass (and tuition), but this system is outdated and inaccessible.

Forgetting the ID card often results in students being fined hundreds of dollars and/or getting kicked off of busses into the cold weather to find another means of transportation to school unless they can pay the full adult fare that day.  Not only does this cause unnecessary stress, it also causes students to be late for classes and exams.

The TTC recently eliminated the same student ID for high school students who were also once required to purchase the ID in order to use their discounted tickets or metropass.  Why, then, are university students still required to pay for this pass every year and carry around an extra piece of ID when universities and colleges issue their students a student card specifically for identification purposes?  Moreover, why are post-secondary students still required to purchase this ID card when many are already paying $112 for the metropass AND $7000 or more for tuition?

Not only is the ID card overpriced and completely unnecessary, the TTC has failed to adopt other means of validating the identification of post-secondary students.  Other schools outside of the GTA such as Brock, Wilfrid Laurier, and Western allow students to use their university-issued student ID card to board busses.  They do so by either using the card alone, or by adding a sticker issuing that the student card is valid for transit that year.  Instead of adopting this simple, cost-effective method for students to use transit, the TTC still insists upon forcing students who are often already tight for money to pay for an additional piece of identification.

Currently, Sherbourne station is the only station on the TTC where students can purchase these ID cards.  Not only are the hours inconvenient for students who have night classes (hours: Monday-Friday from 3-7pm), but Sherbourne station is inaccessible.  This means that students who are not able-bodied are required to make the trip to the Davisville station customer service office where they can get their photo taken.  However, it doesn't end there - the representatives at Davisville station will then send the photo over to Sherbourne station to print the ID card.  Once the card is ready, Sherbourne station will send the card to the student's address.  In the mean-time, how are these students expected to use their discounted Post-Secondary metropass without the ID to make it "valid"?  To avoid getting their metropass revoked, they would be forced to pay the full adult fare, despite being enrolled at a recognized college or university.

By signing this petition, you can help let the TTC know that we will no longer tolerate paying for an unnecessary transit ID card when we have valid student cards from our colleges or universities, especially given the outdated system and inaccessibility of obtaining the ID card.