Bus fares will increase for public transit riders in Mississauga

Starting April 1, it’ll cost people more to ride public transit buses in Mississauga.

The MiWay fare hikes, which include a cash fare increase of 25 cents and a $10 jump in the cost of a monthly Presto pass for adults, will help pay for improvements to the city’s public transit system, Mississauga officials say.

The following MiWay fare increases will take effect on April 1:

• cash fare — increases from $4 to $4.25
• Presto open payment fare — increases from $4 to $4.25
• Presto youth single fare — increases from $2.45 to $2.65
• Presto adult single fare — increases from $3.20 to $3.40
• Presto adult monthly pass — increases from $131 to $141

City of Mississauga officials said in a news release this week they’re putting nearly $4 million into MiWay transit service improvements in 2024 to respond to increased ridership demand, customer needs and future growth.

“This will include an additional 57,000 more MiWay service hours to improve reliability and increase service capacity on MiWay’s routes,” a city spokesperson said in the news release.

The city is also planning for nearly $2 billion in capital work over the next 10 years to build more bus stops and shelters, as well as maintain and expand transit infrastructure throughout the city, MiWay officials note.

They add work also continues on key transit projects in Canada’s seventh-largest city, including the Lakeshore Higher Order Transit and Dundas Bus Rapid Transit initiatives.

Furthermore, the city has set aside $85.2 million to switch its fleet over to low/zero emission hybrid buses from older diesel vehicles.

“The city is also improving the transit customer experience by constructing 30 more standard bus shelters in Mississauga and constructing 36 enhanced bus shelters along major roadways that are larger, heated and provide more seating,” officials said.

Meanwhile, a provincial plan that took effect the end of February is expected to keep costs down for transit riders in Mississauga, Brampton and across the GTA.

The One Fare plan allows transit users to now pay only once as they can transfer for free between MiWay, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, York Region Transit, GO Transit and TTC buses among others.

The provincial government estimates the initiative will save riders an average of $1,600 annually.