OC Transpo union says more riders than ever are skipping fares

OC Transpo doesn't know how much money it's losing to transit scofflaws, even as the union representing many of its employees warns that more and more passengers are skipping out on paying their fares.

Clint Crabtree, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, said fare evasion has always been an issue at OC Transpo — but it seems to be getting worse.

"I think it's more today than it ever has been," Crabtree said Thursday.

"That's the feedback that I'm getting from my members, is that they're seeing fare evasion all the time, every day, and they're seeing it more and more and more."

He said there are too few fare inspectors to make a dent in the problem and OC Transpo is losing out on desperately needed revenue.

There is nobody out there policing it, so why pay?- Clint Crabtree, ATU Local 279

"It ends up being a free-for-all for anyone who wants to take public transit," he said.

"There is nobody out there policing it, so why pay?"

He said OC Transpo needs to take the issue more seriously and suggested that hiring more inspectors might go a long way.

At the very least, he said, OC Transpo should do something to keep track of the scale of the problem.

Transit services general manager Renée Amilcar said it's tough to pin down how many people are dodging fares. She said the previous system relied on a button that bus drivers could push, but they were pushing it so much that it "killed the system."

Amilcar believes there were many false alarms, including from people with valid passes who used the rear doors.

"So now we have to find something else, something more sustainable," she said.

Amilcar said OC Transpo has been working closely with the union to devise an action plan on fare evasion, which will target problem routes that drivers identify. She plans to present it to council's transit commission in February. 

Driver morale at 'all-time low'

OC Transpo drivers aren't supposed to confront fare delinquents, but Crabtree said it can be hard to resist.

"These are operators, but they still are taxpayers of the city as well, and you see people coming on the bus and not paying. It's frustrating to the operator and some of them do say things," he said.

That can lead to conflict and he said his members regularly face verbal abuse. It's just one of the travails of working at OC Transpo, according to Crabtree, who said morale is now "at an all-time low."

"I've just seen it go lower and lower and lower," he said.

He blamed unrealistic scheduling as a major factor, saying drivers are regularly confronted by unhappy customers frustrated at buses that don't arrive on time, if at all.

Crabtree links low morale to OC Transpo's difficulties with recruiting and retaining drivers.

"I have seen a record number of resignations and retirements in the last year, with half of the resignations coming from long-service employees. The other half of the resignations are coming from brand new recruits," he said.

"We're seeing them drive for a month or two and then resign, so you've wasted all this time and money on training them."

Crabtree said he's been meeting on a weekly basis with Amilcar and has the impression that management is taking the issue seriously.

"We're working very closely on the scheduling," Amilcar told reporters.

"I know that we have concerns. I know that we can improve the way we work with our employees but we will need to find, as I said, the best balance to deliver the service and build the morale."