TRACKING CHEATERS
NUMBER OF CTRAIN FARE EVADERS PLUNGES WITH HARSHER PENALTIES, MORE CHECKS
Increased ticket checks and harsh fines have led to a plunge in CTrain fare evaders, says a city official.
Since city council voted in July 2012 to hike the fine for ticket dodging to $250 from $150, the fare evasion rate has dropped to two per cent from 4.5 per cent.
A team of six peace officers dedicated to ticket checks since March 2012 has also contributed to the drop in the number of people taking the train without purchasing a ticket, according to Calgary Transit coordinator of public safety and enforcement Brian Whitelaw.
“We know that had a significant impact. We saw the rate suddenly start to drop. It became more difficult to find folks (who hadn’t bought a ticket).”
The city had issued 9,570 penalties in the year to September — well down from previous figures. In 2011, 15,000 tickets were written.
“Ridership is up, fare evasion is down,” said Whitelaw.
“That is a trend I think we’ll see continuing.”
A two-per-cent-cheat rate still equated to two million free rides per year on Calgary Transit’s estimate of 100 million CTrain trips annually.
A revenue-loss formula — which accounted for fares less than the standard adult $3 ticket and costsaving monthly passes — calculated the city was between $2 million and $3 million out of pocket each year as a result, Whitelaw said.
Not everyone who was caught paid their debt to society either. Fines could be negotiated down in court or traded for another penalty such as community service. Whitelaw said about 40 per cent of fines were paid in full immediately, but he guessed the city only recovered about 60 per cent of fine revenue.
Despite the annual financial hit, installing a closed system on the CTrain network is still uneconomic, he said.
“Let’s say we’re losing $2.5 million (annually). That’s a lot of infrastructure and investment to try and recover that $2.5 million.”
A retrofit would likely cost more than $100 million, Whitelaw said, and one recent estimate he had read put the cost at $5 million per platform.
“And then you run into problems with … the movement of people through the system that are not transit riders. We’re not looking at the gated system.”
Closed or gated systems (which have barriers or turnstiles) tended to have ticket evasion rates of 1-1.7 per cent, Whitelaw said, while open ones sat at around four per cent.
A survey of commuters at Chinook Station Monday seemed to back up the city’s numbers. Everyone the Herald spoke to had a valid ticket, and all gave assurances they had never gamed the system. “No way,” Page Nixon said. “I’d be too scared (not to pay).” British tourist Rhiannon Jackson was riding the CTrain for the first time, and had the paperwork to prove her payment.
“I’ve just come from Toronto where it’s all barriers and stuff,” she said.
“I think it’s better like this because I would still pay. If you can get easy access to travel cards you don’t need to (cheat the system).”
Ken Talbot was pleasantly surprised by the improving payment rates. He didn’t see a bigger fine as much of a disincentive and hadn’t noticed more ticket checks in the past year.
“It’s just right. Everybody pays taxes, you’re using the service — pay for it. I don’t know why somebody wouldn’t.
“I suspect that really most people are pretty honest about it. There’s always going to be the dedicated core of (freeloaders), whether it be rebellion or they’re just too damn cheap to spend $3 on a ride somewhere.”
The 2014 city budget planned to introduce more peace officers next year because of increased patronage on public transit.