Milton Transit's cash fare rises to $4.50 on January 1, while e-tickets stay at 2026 prices

What changes on January 1

Milton Council passed User Fee By-law 064-2026 at its meeting on July 13, 2026. The by-law sets most of the Town's fees and charges, other than building permit fees, and includes the Milton Transit fare table for 2027. Under it, the cash fare for a single trip rises from $4.25 to $4.50 on January 1, 2027, for adults, seniors and youth alike, and the price of a monthly pass rises by $2 to $3 depending on the rider's age.

Why the Town is raising these fares

In staff report ES-038-26, the Town's Chief Financial Officer recommended a targeted fare adjustment as a measured response to rising operating costs. The report says staff compared fares across transit systems in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and limited the increase to cash fares and monthly passes, where Milton Transit sits below or within the mid-range of comparable systems, to minimise the impact on occasional riders, digital fare users and riders who depend on transit.

The report notes that the Town's Subsidized Passes for Low Income Transit (SPLIT) program provides a 100 per cent subsidy on transit tickets and passes for qualifying low-income residents, including people receiving Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program assistance and eligible refugees.

Other fees in the by-law

The report recommended raising many other Town fees by the Town's Municipal Price Index, calculated at 3.15 per cent for 2027, and estimated that the added fee revenue would offset roughly a 0.80 per cent increase in property taxes. User fees and charges account for $32.7 million of the Town's 2026 approved budget, according to the report.

Council amended the proposed by-law before passing it so that the hourly fees for several youth swimming lesson programs stay at the rate in effect since September 1, 2025, on both September 1, 2026 and September 1, 2027. In the enacted by-law, the Preschool A–E and Swimmer 1–3 lessons stay at $25.13 an hour, Swimmer 4–6 and Swim Patrol at $17.31, and Parent and Tot 1–3 at $23.44.

• A new "Book a Quad" option lets individuals or small groups rent a quarter of an ice surface for $29.23 an hour, according to the staff report.
• The window for last-minute facility booking discounts of up to 40 per cent was recommended to extend from 48 to 72 hours before the booking.
• The fee to discharge an Order to Comply registered on a property's title was set at $820, which the report says fully recovers the Town's costs, including external legal services.