Greater Sudbury’s public transit system has suffered a significant revenue loss of $407,000 CAD in 2024 due to fare evasion on its public transit system, particularly on buses.
In response, the city council has approved the hiring of two part-time municipal law enforcement officers (MLEOs) to monitor buses. These officers will focus on deterring fare evasion and ensuring passenger safety, while transit operators, for their own protection, are not required to enforce fare payment rules directly.
Last year, the Canadian city reported 52,230 fare evasion incidents, resulting in $182,805 CAD in lost revenue at a single ride fare of $3.50 CAD. Following a fare increase to $4 CAD in January 2024, fare evasion incidents have more than doubled, climbing to 101,750 and resulting in $407,000 CAD in losses. This equates to an average of 279 fare evaders per day but represents less than 2% of total ridership. With ridership projected to hit a record-breaking six million by the end of the year—up from 5.2 million in 2023 and pre-pandemic levels of 4.6 million in 2019—the city is balancing growing transit demand with revenue protection efforts.
The newly hired MLEOs will patrol transit routes, enforcing fare payment and addressing onboard issues in collaboration with Greater Sudbury Police. Their deployment will be strategically planned using tracked data to target high-incident periods and locations. While the primary goal is to recover lost revenue, city officials are mindful of broader socio-economic challenges and fare affordability. A mid-year review in 2025 will evaluate the program’s effectiveness and inform decisions on future funding and enforcement strategies.
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