NDP opposition leader Adrian Dix was nearly fined for fare evasion this month after being caught on the SkyTrain without a ticket, but the contender for B.C.'s top political office insists he'd paid for his ride.
Dix was taken aside by Transit Police at the Granville Street station on March 3 after he was unable to produce a ticket, but the officers let him off with a warning.
The Vancouver-Kingsway MLA says he had purchased a day pass, but misplaced it.
"I'm completely responsible for that. The rules are clear: it's not whether you bought it, it's whether you have the ticket when asked," the longtime transit user said.
"It's not insignificant. I was wrong, I'm responsible and so I'm answering to it."
Fare evasion can carry a $173 fine, but officers can opt not to levy it, if the offender has no past history of transgressions, for example.
Dix was asked whether the SkyTrain situation should be compared to his infamous memo-to-file incident, where he admitted to backdating a memo for former premier Glen Clark in the 1990s.
"It's apples to oranges. This is human error by me and I take full responsibility for it," he said.
TransLink estimates that fare evasion costs the company more than $18 million a year.
The fare gates being currently being installed at SkyTrain and Canada Line stations, estimated to be completed next year, are expected to save about $7-million in losses annually.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was famously fined in 2007 for allegedly riding two zones on a one-zone ticket.
With files from The Canadian Press
