The TTC union says it does not want fare collectors to demand money at the farebox if they think it will put them in danger. Howard Moscoe, chair of the TTC, says collectors have no choice but to demand fare be paid.
It is kind of stupid for the TTC to have a public debate about this. Fare collectors already let people go through when they sense trouble, but on other occasions they put their foot down. When collectors are scared, they can call security which will show up on a bus or at a station.
But now that the debate has reached the cover and editorial pages on the Toronto Sun, every tough-ass teenager and thug will make a threatening scene so they don’t have to pay. This is akin to revealing your greatest weakness to the enemy. Not smart at all.
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I think this could be prevented if there was only one way to pay: a card. The TTC says its loses 1% of its annual revenue to fraud. How much more do you think it loses to skipped fares, especially for a system so reliant upon fares?
One should be forced to use a card bought from a multilingual, accessible machine in stations and get a card that is either unlimited (the “next 30 days” makes so much more sense than a specific month) or declining balance (pay-per-ride)
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but this is money saving, not money spending.
Though, even if you have the card you’ll just have people who get angry and do the same thing. It doesn’t matter if it is a transfer or a plastic card, thugs will be thugs.
I think the system works fine now and we do not need $150 million contract for smart cards until there is a plan to integrate the GTA transit systems. Until then we can do stuff on the cheap.
Who went public first? Was it the union fellow?
Even if cards were used, people would still be able to do things like walk into subway stations off the street. I see it happen all the time.
I was on the 501 car this morning and there was an older lady who got on, sat down and refused to pay. She was brandishing the Metro, which had “Free Rides on the TTC?” as its headline. The driver refused to move and eventually a bunch of us shamed her into getting off the car.
It was a silly move to have to publicly declare drivers need not enforce fares, but I think the vast majority of people will still pay their way at the TTC cost. Anyone who makes a scene and doesn’t pay as a result of this announcement was probably doing it before anyway.
personally i think it’s still a really good idea to pay your fare (or more if your that nice) enforcement or not.
No one should be trying to abuse this public debate and try to get free rides on the TTC. I’m reminded of the sort of hooligans take advantage of those houses at Halloween that leave candy out in a big bowl that says “Take one” and empty the whole bowl. If you force your way into getting a free ride, you benefit temporarily but everyone else has to suffer in the long run. Upped fares, employee layoffs at the TTC: the ramifications of trying to steal from the TTC are not pleasant.
Good for you Bob, shaming that lady!
I’m with Sunhawk. Bob and I were on the same car when that happened. Actually, he missed an item of interest, when someone offered to pay the older lady’s fare, so we made them get off too.
That’s an interesting decision blobby, i’m not sure i understand why you’d did that. Was the person not trying to just get the streetcar moving again or end the unpleasant situation? I can understand telling them not to pay for her but making them leave too seems a bit extreme to me, but i can appreciate that the context might have made it necessary