TTC bringing back tickets for fare evasion in late March
CTV
Three years after the TTC hit the brakes on fines for fare evasion, the network is looking to get enforcement back on track to address what officials say has become a “huge problem” on some routes.
Three years after the TTC hit the brakes on fines for fare evasion, the network is looking to get enforcement back on track to address what officials say has become a “huge problem” on some routes.
“There’s a sense of disorder that’s going on in the TTC. A sense of anything goes,” Councillor and TTC Board Chair Jon Burnside NEWSTALK 1010’s Moore in the Morning on Tuesday.
“I want to get back to the basics of expectations. It’s an understanding that you have to pay for service and it’s not about you choosing whether you’re willing to pay or not.”
In a report that’s set to go before the board on Tuesday, the TTC said it plans to reintroduce the practice -- which was paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- by late March as part of its “overall fare recovery strategy” as it believes 13 per cent of customers are not paying.
While the ticket itself will cost you $235 if you’re caught on the transit without proof of payment, Burnside said he believes it’s not just the steep fine that will deter fare evasion.
“It’s not so much the ticket itself, or the amount, it’s the actual likelihood of getting caught which really motivates people,” he said.
The TTC employs 110 fare inspectors across the network who are primarily focused on streetcar routes -- of which the Queen and King Street lines are a specific problem, Burnside said.
