TransLink installed its first faregate at a Canada Line SkyTrain station on Monday in an attempt to make fare evasion a thing of the past.
The faregate unveiled at the Marine Drive station is the first of 245 that will be installed at every station in the system. The faregates are not expected to be up and running until the fall of 2013, but Doug Kelsey with TransLink says it’s a step forward to catch those who attempt to ride for free.
“You’ll see significantly reduced fare evasion, but to say it will be eliminated…people will still find ways to compromise the system,” he said. “However, what you will see by today, there is a physical barrier now, not just a psychological one, of a proof of payment system.”
In addition to the faregates, a new electronic fare card will also be brought in next year.
Fare evasion has cost TransLink millions of dollars, not only because people are not paying for transit, but also because transit authorities do not have the power to make people pay the $173-fine that is issued when they are caught without a ticket.
In May, provincial legislation was introduced to get tough on fare evaders by allowing ICBC to withhold driver’s license renewal when a person has an unpaid ticket. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom had said those new powers of collection would kick in this summer, but ICBC says the changes have yet to come into effect.
“We had to do some work obviously to transition to allow [ICBC] to have the tools that they needed to go in to collect this,” said Lekstrom. “We had to go in , we had to put in regulations, we had to do a number of things, and we acted as quickly as we can.”
Lekstrom says the new powers are set to kick in in September. He says there is still a plan to go after people with tickets up to 10 years old.
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Maria Weisgarber
