OC Transpo
fare inspectors handed out more than 4,000 fines to riders who skipped paying the
fare
so far this year.
Officers issued 4,059 tickets and another 580 warnings between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, according to data shared with the transit committee.
The city employs 12 fare inspectors who are deployed to “known areas” or responding to complaints, operating from Monday to Friday during the day and into
OC Transpo’s peak periods
.
Fare inspectors issued 2,654 tickets at O-Train rail stations, 989 tickets at bus stations and another 416 to bus riders on-street.
The penalty for not paying the fare is $260, representing a little more than $1 million in fines.
The data does not represent those who may have boarded a bus at the back door or hopped an O-Train fare gate, staff told the transit committee, and does not include single-ride or special event passes.
Staff said on Sept. 11 they are still working on an estimated “non-compliance rate” to measure the proportion of riders who skip the fare.
