Latest news with #fare evasion
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CTrain riders will need to scan tickets before boarding, starting Wednesday
CTrain customers using electronic tickets will need to scan them at the stations before boarding as part of a new measure to tackle fare evasion. The new policy goes into effect on Wednesday, with the installation of 112 ticket validators across Calgary Transit's network of stations around the city. Previously, customers who bought a mobile ticket would only need to activate it on their phones for it to count as proof of fare, but now they'll also need to validate it at CTrain stations or face a $250 fine. Tess Abanto, manager of transit service design, said the measure is being introduced to recoup potential lost revenue. Up until now, she said customers have been able to purchase a ticket, which can be used anytime in the ensuing seven days, and only activate it if they see a transit peace officer approaching on the train "We found that not all our customers are using the ticket correctly," Abanto said. "We found in our analysis that about 46 per cent of adult tickets are not valid or not activated properly, and 50 per cent of our youth tickets are also not activated properly. So we wanted to correct that." For now, ticket validators are being installed at CTrain stations, not on the trains themselves. Abanto said Calgary Transit will monitor whether more validators are needed, and consider increasing the number at specific stations if needed. Marcia Gonder, chief of public vehicle standards, said the city wants to ensure customers are paying transit fares, and that they understand how to do so. To do this, the city and Calgary Transit will run an educational campaign to familiarize riders with the new system. But Gonder and Abanto noted the new system aligns with how mobile ticketing already works on Calgary buses. "It's not a massive change," Gonder said. "The validators are already on buses, so we don't foresee a huge change piece, but we will be adapting accordingly" Calgary Transit introduced its mobile ticketing system five years ago with the My Fare app. The system followed two failed attempts at electronic fare payments in Calgary more than a decade ago. Abanto said Calgary Transit plans to implement a system in the future where customers can use debit and credit cards on the system.
CBC
15-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
CTrain riders will need to scan tickets before boarding, starting Wednesday
CTrain customers using electronic tickets will need to scan them at the stations before boarding as part of a new measure to tackle fare evasion. The new policy goes into effect on Wednesday, with the installation of 112 ticket validators across Calgary Transit's network of stations around the city. Previously, customers who bought a mobile ticket would only need to activate it on their phones for it to count as proof of fare, but now they'll also need to validate it at CTrain stations or face a $250 fine. Tess Abanto, manager of transit service design, said the measure is being introduced to recoup potential lost revenue. Up until now, she said customers have been able to purchase a ticket, which can be used anytime in the ensuing seven days, and only activate it if they see a transit peace officer approaching on the train "We found that not all our customers are using the ticket correctly," Abanto said. "We found in our analysis that about 46 per cent of adult tickets are not valid or not activated properly, and 50 per cent of our youth tickets are also not activated properly. So we wanted to correct that." For now, ticket validators are being installed at CTrain stations, not on the trains themselves. Abanto said Calgary Transit will monitor whether more validators are needed, and consider increasing the number at specific stations if needed. Marcia Gonder, chief of public vehicle standards, said the city wants to ensure customers are paying transit fares, and that they understand how to do so. To do this, the city and Calgary Transit will run an educational campaign to familiarize riders with the new system. But Gonder and Abanto noted the new system aligns with how mobile ticketing already works on Calgary buses. Calgary Transit introduced its mobile ticketing system five years ago with the My Fare app. The system followed two failed attempts at electronic fare payments in Calgary more than a decade ago. Abanto said Calgary Transit plans to implement a system in the future where customers can use debit and credit cards on the system.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- BBC News
Tube fare evasion prosecutions highest since 2019
The number of prosecutions for fare evasion on London Underground has risen to its highest level for six years, figures seen by the BBC for London (TfL) prosecuted 3,691 people on the Tube in 2024-25, and also issued 13,118 penalty fare notices (PFNs) and 850 written the same period, there was a record number of PFNs (12,527) handed out on London Overground but the number of prosecutions (3,044) fell by a third on the previous year. Some 440 warnings were says fare evasion is "not a victimless crime" and "robs Londoners of vital investment", adding that it was "committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion to 1.5% by 2030". The figures were revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request by BBC request was made after a video was released in May of shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick confronting fare evaders. Tube fare-dodging prosecutions peaked in 2018-19 when there were 4,919, with the number dropping to 3,279 the following the pandemic, prosecutions fell steeply as a result of the much lower passenger numbers across the network. No London Overground passengers were issued PFNs in 2020-21 and just 134 were prosecuted in 2021-22, which TfL said was due to "revenue teams [instead] carrying out the enforcement of government Covid regulations". The number of warnings issued has been steadily rising, with 2023-24 a record year on both the Underground (948) and Overground (887).TfL said it spent nearly £14.2m cracking down on fare dodging across the Tube and £7.7m on the bus network in 2023-24, collecting £1.3m in penalty charges. The level of such spending on the London Overground, Tram network and on the Elizabeth line is unknown because these services are operated by franchisees that outsource their enforcement estimated 3.4% of passengers evaded fares across all services between April and December 2024, a drop of 0.4% on 2023-24, according to TfL. Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing, and enforcement, said "the overwhelming majority of our customers pay the correct fare" and that "evasion is unacceptable". He said: "That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network."This builds on the work of our team of more than 500 uniformed officers already deployed across the network to deal with fare evasion and other antisocial behaviour, keeping staff and customers safe."
