Fewer riders trying to dodge fares: Transit Police
The vast majority of passengers pay to ride transit, despite public perception that fare evasion is high.
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Updated: November 24, 2009 5:57 PM
Transit Police ticketed 1,000 people for fare evasion in an enforcement blitz in October.
Officers say it seems that fewer people are trying to ride for free.
They checked more than 50,000 people in a series of checks during the month.
Chief Ward Clapham said 3.6 per cent of those checked were handed $173 fines, adding that rate is down about 23 per cent from past blitzes this year.
Overall this year, Transit Police have made 374,000 fare checks and issued 11,500 tickets to roughly three per cent of the passengers they checked.
The tickets issued don't reflect the actual fare evasion rate.
That's because officers let some violators off without a fine if they buy a proper ticket, but those statistics aren't tracked.
TransLink auditors in 2008 estimated a SkyTrain fare evasion rate of 5.4 per cent.
Most fare evasion tickets issued are never paid, ICBC statistics consistently show.
TransLink plans to install turnstiles at stations, but critics say the money recovered by ending the existing honour system will never justify the cost of building and operating fare gates.
The new 10-year plan calls for TransLink to spend $179 million on fare gates and a smart card payment system, or roughly $20 million a year.
Ottawa and Victoria have pledged to put up $100 million of the money required.
Fare evasion is estimated to cost the system $6.4 million a year in lost revenue.
A recent report by B.C.'s Comptroller General made no mention of revenue lost to fare evasion or the merits of the fare gate plans.
TransLink officials say the project is about much more than stopping fare dodgers.
Electronic smart cards would allow TransLink to replace its zone system with distance-based charges, get better statistics on system use and offer discounts to encourage travel at off-peak times or on underused routes.
