Ridership on Toronto’s struggling airport train took a dive after October, closing out last year with the two lowest months yet.

The Union Pearson Express, which launched with much fanfare last summer, had the goal of carrying 5,000 riders a day within a year. But after taking about four months to reach half that goal, ridership stalled and then started going in the wrong direction.

In November, the provincially run train averaged 2,186 riders a day, down from 2,549 the month before. The situation got slightly worse in December, when the train averaged 2,168 people each day. In December, the train carried about 200 fewer people a day than in August, which had previously been the worst month.

Toronto’s new airport train is struggling to attract riders amid continuing criticism that the $456 million Union Pearson Express is simply too expensive.

On Friday, Metrolinx, the provincial agency that runs the train, said it will consider price adjustments among other options for building ridership.

The standard one-way adult fare on UPX is $27.50 but riders paying with a Presto card can board for $19.
Six months after it launched, Union Pearson Express (UPX) ridership levels were down significantly from the summer, hitting a low of 65,593 riders in November, 13,000 fewer passengers than the October high of 79,000.