The TTC wants to replace all adult tickets with tokens by the end of September. Apparently since the last fare hike there has been an increase in counterfeited tickets and replacing them with tokens seems to be the only option. If the TTC proposal is accepted:

• adult tickets will no longer be accepted as of September 28th
• in mid-September you will be able to exchange your adult tickets for tokens at the Yonge-Bloor subway station or at TTC headquarters at Yonge and Davisville
• student and senior tickets will not be effected and will remain in use

The TTC reports that the loss of revenue due to counterfeiting is now 1.5% which translates to between $300,000 and $400,000 per month. Quite frankly that boggles my mind and I wouldn’t mind seeing a little proof of these figures. However if these figures are correct the projected revenue losses for 2008 at $5 million. In 2007 65 million adult tickets or 15% of TTC fares were used. In order to replace this many tickets the TTC will have to ramp up its production of tokens to the tune of $2 million.

There are a lot of counterfeit tickets currently in circulation. And although I recognize that this is a problem I am loathe to change from tickets to tokens. Perhaps it is a function of age, but the tokens blend in too easily with other coins and frequently appear to disappear while my old standby tickets are easy to find. Are you a ticket person, a token person, or is it all the same for you?