TTC Black Friday mass fare evasion in Toronto

What’s stopping them?

Two videos shared on social media by 6ixbuzzTV show apparent instances of mass fare evasion on the TTC. Together, the videos had garnered nearly 1 million views and thousands of comments as of Friday night.

In one of the videos, dozens of people rushPresto turnstiles at what appears to be the Runnymede subway station, vaulting over them without paying.

The second video shows a large group of people flood through the back door of a TTC bus and appear not to pay. An individual is heard in the video saying: “F— the TTC,” before boarding.

“Fare evasion is a major problem,” Jaye Robinson, TTC Chair, told the Toronto Sun.

Riders refusing to pay their fares cost the municipal transit agency $61 million in 2018 alone, according to a February 2019 Toronto Auditor General’s report.

Transit officials implemented a campaign in May 2019 meant to stop fare evaders by fining them up to $425. However, fines vary for different offences: Outright refusal to pay a fare yields a $195 fine.

Between February and May, the TTC issued 4,549 tickets.

Robinson said that the high level of fare evasion “is completely unacceptable.

“The TTC has implemented various revenue protection measures over the past year, but clearly, we need to act faster,” she said.

Incidents of mass fare evasion “are thankfully a rare occurrence but no less of a concern,” said TTC spokesman Stuart Green.

“The process of hiring fare inspectors is ongoing and we are moving to our target of 111 with additional support from our special constables.”

Individual TTC employees who operate the trains, buses and streetcars are “trained” to deal with fare evasion without “delaying service,” said Green.

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