[miketoronto]

I just found out this information from the Milton Transit website. This is great news. For anyone who does not know, Milton is a suburb of Toronto located about 30-40min from downtown Toronto driving time, or about 50min by commuter train or bus. Milton has about 40,000 people.

They are smart though. They are still charging fares during rush periods.

From the Town of Milton.
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Milton Transit Service


Ride for free from 9 to 3! Starting June 1, 2007, free transit will be available Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Town of Milton will be breaking ground as the first municipality in Canada to offer system-wide free transit for an extended period of time. Take the bus and explore your community. Isn't it time you tried Milton Transit?

Connections to GO trains and buses
You can leave your car at home when travelling to and from work in the greater Toronto area by GO train. Show the bus driver your valid GO pass/ticket and you can transfer to or from Milton Transit for just 50 cents per ride.

[tunnelbana]

I think this can work pretty well in small communities. They are right to charge fares during the peak, those ridership levels typically dictate the cost of providing service. Off-peak, they might as well get more people on-board.

Mayor Newsom of San Francisco had tossed around the idea in March of making MUNI free for everyone all the time. That would have been a disaster, and I haven't heard any more it since.

[Cambridgite]

It's a shame that Milton has become a suburb of Toronto. I would be kind of depressed if I lived in that town and one day I woke up and was surrounded by a bunch of cookie cutter houses filled with Mississauga commuters who have no connection or involvement with the community. The biggest mistake Milton ever made was extending the water pipes. Another town has lost its soul. :(