True or False: GO Transit monthly pass holders have an annual household income of $100K and higher
True | 22 (48%) |
False | 23 (51%) |
Votes: 45
GO Transit customers are a wealthy lot with a median household income of over $100K.
My husband and I fit the criteria but we sure don't feel wealthy. Do you?
8 comments:
A $100K household income does not qualify as wealthy these days. Wasn't the original question whether monthly passholders have 100K+ household incomes? I doubt monthly passholders make up the majority of GO riders - but I could be wrong.
It's interesting but not a big surprise. The avg. household income for the GTA is $99K, and over $100K in most of the suburban communities GO services (e.g., Oakville is $143K, Whitby is $107K). The reason you don't feel wealthy is because in a relative sense you're not - in that you're not substantially different from the majority. Factor in the high taxes you pay in this country, elevated housing costs - not to mention ridiculously high GO Transit fares some of us pay on top of all that - and $100K does not go far at all these days. For the record, I certainly don't feel wealthy either...
I'm sub-average :-( and by quite a bit. That said, I bet most households with incomes over $100k have two earners. (I'm the sole earner in ours, which I'm happy with - but most house prices in Durham kind of require a double income).
I wouldn't say we were "wealthy"... more like "fine if we're careful". I reckon we'd feel wealthy around the $75k mark, unless we spent it all on a house.
Oh, and GO Fares are pretty low as train services go... try living within an hour of London (UK) and commuting by rail. (Example: Reading to London: 30mins, £325.30 or about $500 for a monthly pass. Compare with Pickering to Union: 30 mins and $205 for a monthly pass). Facilites, punctuality and taxes are similar.
What I found interesting is the average household income is what was used as leverage to justify a fare increase. Because you know, none of us toiling away to bring home this 100K plus have car payments, fuel costs, mortgages, grocery bills, tax bills, clothing costs, child care, dry cleaning bills, home repair costs, rrsp contributions, swimming lessons, soccer, life insurance premiums, drug plan premiums, car insurance premiums, hydro bills, phone bills, internet, mobile, water bills ... nope. Just a lot of money to spend on transit.
At $272 a month for a pass?! Hell no.
Seriously, $272 is cheap, so quit moaning. If I had a car, it would cost me $300/month minimum - even if I didn't use to to drive to work.
TomW is correct in that GO fares are not out of line compared to places like the UK. However, GO's DISMAL on-time record and endless delays make it VERY expensive in my view. Add up all the delay time in a week/month/year due to "signal problems," "track congestion," etc. plus the occasional cancellation, and it ends up costing much more than the price printed on the ticket.
In the UK and Europe, on the other hand, I have found train travel to be a delight compared to here - being on time is a goal the train operators actually strive for over there.
Agreed. Comparing mass transit in Canada (Ontario) to that of the UK is like comparing a sailboat to a yacht. Still pay the same price per litre to fuel it but the ride's different.
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