TTC to resume ticketing, fining fare evaders this fall after pandemic pause, equity complaints
3% of passengers not paying fares, ridership 60% of pre-pandemic levels, TTC says
The TTC says it will resume ticketing and fining passengers who don't pay their fares this fall after a hiatus due to the pandemic and a review of enforcement protocols in response to accusations of racism.
Enforcement will ramp up again after it was paused following COVID-19's arrival in the city and after inspectors were moved into customer service roles, spokesperson Stuart Green said Tuesday. Anyone caught not paying to board TTC vehicles will be fined $425. And when ticketing does resume in late September or October, Green said, the focus will be on high-employment areas like the financial district and downtown.
But Green added that the TTC re-examined its policies after a number of incidents in which fare inspectors were accused of targeting racialized and low-income passengers. An independent review published last year backed up those accusations, and Green said new protocols will be in place to make sure enforcement is equitable.
"There was some concern that was expressed from some of our customers that our protocols, and the way we were doing fare enforcement, they felt it was discriminatory," said Green.
"We're re-writing the protocols in how we approach our customers; how we issue written warnings; when we approach them … so that's all firming up now," he added.
"It's making sure that people know and understand that if and when they are approached for a fare inspection that it's being done in a very neutral way; that it's inclusive; that it's not discriminatory; that any concerns that people might have about that we are addressing," he said.
Less enforcement, more investment, riders' group demands
But at least one advocate for people who use Toronto public transit is skeptical the changes will be enough.
"It remains to be seen of course what the effect of this new fare enforcement process will be," August Puranauth, a member of the advocacy group TTC Riders, told CBC Toronto.
"We know that across North America, many cities have done reforms of fare enforcement, but inherently, fare policing does target people of colour, people who are lower income," Puranauth added.
About three per cent of riders aren't paying to board subways and buses, Green said, and that number is closer to five per cent for streetcar passengers. He noted that TTC ridership numbers are about 60 per cent of what they were before the pandemic. As well, referencing a past auditor general's report released pre-pandemic, the TTC loses about $60 million a year.
Prior to the coming of COVID-19, about 65 per cent of TTC revenues came from the fare box, Green said. He added that the TTC did receive about $1.5-billion in provincial assistance during the pandemic.
But Puranauth says that rather than more fare enforcement, TTC Riders is demanding more government investment in public transit.
"We'd like to see more funding from the municipal, provincial and federal governments, because that's the way we're going to bring the transit system out of the pandemic," he said.
"We want to see more expanded service."