TransLink cracking down on fare cheats, hoping to discourage $5M in evasion
![Fare gate issue TransLink suspects staff error is to blame for an issue that closed all fare gates for around 20 minutes Friday. April 1, 2016. (CTV)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2016/4/1/fare-gate-issue-1-2842410-1724193240211.jpg)
Faced with a massive funding gap, TransLink has launched a crackdown on fare cheats – an effort the company hopes will prevent $5 million in fare evasion annually.
During the enforcement blitz, passengers can expect to see more "high-visibility" fare patrols both on transit vehicles and at transit hubs, TransLink said in a news release Tuesday.
Fare evaders can face a $173 ticket if caught.
"Transit fares are an integral part of how we pay for transit services in Metro Vancouver," TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said in a statement.
"It’s unfair that some customers who are able to pay are choosing not to, and this undermines our finances and our ability to operate the transit system."
Free or subsidized transit passes are available for those in need through the B.C. Bus Pass Program, and additional charitable organizations such as the Homeless Services Association of B.C.
TransLink said the new crackdown is already underway, with help from eight new security officers.
Security checked more than 100,000 passengers in July, a 60 per cent increase compared to the same month last year, according to the company. Patrols will "continue to ramp up in the coming months," with at alternating enforcement locations, TransLink said.
The blitz is part of TransLink's previously announced "cost-efficiency measures," which have included laying off staff and decreasing reliance on third-party contractors.
Prior to the cost-cutting, the company said it was expecting to face an annual funding gap of more than $600 million once provincial relief dries up at the end of 2025.
When it comes to fare evasion, TransLink told CTV News it is not focused on generating revenue from fines, but through increased "payment compliance."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ben Nesbit
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7034620.1726094643!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
What passengers need to know about their rights ahead of a potential Air Canada pilots strike
While Air Canada has shared advice for travellers ahead of a possible pilots strike, an airline passenger rights advocate has more tips for Canadians who may be affected.
Consul general to New York to answer questions over $9M luxury condo purchase
After weeks of pressure, Canada's consul general Tom Clark will testify on Thursday before a House of Commons committee about the purchase of his new official residence in New York that generated a lot of political attention over the summer.
'Buy nothing': PSAC wants federal workers to boycott downtown Ottawa businesses
A union representing federal employees is asking its members to bring their own lunch to work, in an apparent retaliation against downtown Ottawa businesses as new return-to-office protocols begin.
'Spot, squish, report': Officials urging vigilance as destructive species heads north
They have a propensity to proliferate and a fondness for grapes, and while the distinctive red and white-spotted lanternfly may look beautiful, officials are urging vigilance as the invasive species tracks north.
Actions speak louder: What experts are saying about the body language in the U.S. presidential debate
The highly anticipated debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a heated matchup. Here's what experts who analyzed the exchange had to say.
Jon Bon Jovi helps talk woman down from ledge on Nashville bridge
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi and a video production assistant persuaded a woman standing on the ledge of a pedestrian bridge in Nashville to come back over the railing to safety.
Inside a Manitoba ghost town, a group of ladies works to keep it alive
Abandoned homes line the streets of Lauder, a town that's now a ghost of what it once was. Yet inside, a small community is thriving.
B.C. family says razor blades found in bag of frozen blueberries
The B.C. parents of an 11-year-old girl said their daughter recently found a package containing razor blades in a bag of Kirkland-brand frozen blueberries.
Langenburg UFO sighting commemorated with silver coin
Perhaps Saskatchewan's most famous encounter with Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP/UFO) – "The Langenburg Event" is now being immortalized in the form of a collective coin.