Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is estimated to lose $50 million annually to fare evasion. An internal report made public a year ago suggested that the fare evasion rate was 4.4% instead of the official 2% figure. It also stated that a 2% reduction of this rate would save the agency more than $29 million...
More transit inspection to combat fare evasion at TTC
Punishment-free fare evasion in Berlin?
Investigation and punishment of fare evasion is “a waste of resources” according to the city’s Attorney-General
Decriminalizing fare evasion in public transport is becoming a tendency. Many cities in the United States have recently moved from court citations to administrative fines to speed up the judicial process. Now, Berlin suggests switching to a fully punishment-free system. Currently, fare evasion is a crime with potentially significant consequences such as large fines...
Technology upgrade to solve Opal card loophole at Sydney Airport
As of January 7th, 2019 passengers traveling to the airport station must top up their cards to a minimum $35 before boarding the trains
Australia’s Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) has announced that all passengers travelling to and from Sydney’s Airport station are required to top up their Opal cards to a minimum $35 as of January 7, 2019. This solution is to prevent revenue losses caused by a loophole which allowed passengers to travel with negative...
MTA loses $215 million to fare evasion
Some people blame the new policy that stops the prosecuting fare dodgers, others the fall in ridership due to the system’s failures
The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) in New York expects to lose $215 million to fare evasion in 2018. This is double the amount lost in 2015. The transport agency estimates fare dodgers in buses cost $119 million. People who jump the turnstiles amount to $96 million loses. According to MTA officials, paying bus ridership...
Annual pass reduces ticketless passengers in Prague
The ticket fine reprieve Nejedeš načerno? turns 4500 fare-dodgers into annual public transport pass holders
Last October, Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) implemented an innovative ticket fine reprieve called “Nejedeš načerno?”(Not black riding, are you?). When caught travelling without a valid ticket, fare-dodgers can reduce the fine by half by buying an annual public transport pass. Since then, more than 4,500 people have turned from ticketless passengers to annual...
Brussels Metro installs double validation system to reduce fare evasion
From now on passengers will have to validate tickets both when entering and when exiting stations
Travellers on Brussels Metro must now validate their tickets both at entry and at exit points at stations, similar to the city’s Premetro system. Starting this month, Brussels’ public transport operator STIB-MIVB installed new gates at one station, with 15 more stations planned to be ready by the end of 2018. The Metro a...
SNCF intensifies its anti-fraud strategy
The French operator will deploy mobile teams of 2 to 8 agents at trains and stations in Occitanie to reduce its 11% fare evasion rate
Fare evasion rate in SNCF Occitanie trains is 11%. This amounts to an annual loss of 8 million euros, equivalent to a TER of last generation. In order to tackle this issue, the French operator will reinforce its anti-fraud strategy. Starting December 9th, SNCF will set up a new customer service organization at stations...
TransMilenio punishes fare dodgers with cleaning duties
The transport operator in Bogotá loses 477,000 million pesos annually due to fare evasion
More than 600.000 people fare evade every day at TransMilenio, the metropolitan transport system in Bogotá. In order to reduce the amount of people using the public transport without paying, TransMilenio is deploying new pedagogical actions. The latest was punishing fare dodgers with cleaning the floors of stations. They also had to write slogans...
Fare evasion crackdown in Rome
Rome's public transport operator ATAC issued a record 16,000 fines in one month
Rome’s public transport agency ATAC is running a new round of ticket checks aimed to reduce fare evasion rates on its fleet of vehicles. Since the start of the year controllers have verified around 2 million passengers, 8,5% more than last year. In a new coordinated effort in September 2018, the agency issued a record...
MBTA postpones fare gates deployment in commuter rail platforms
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will wait until 2021 to make it coincide with the installation of the all-electronic payment
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is postponing its plan to install new fare gates in commuter rail platforms. The reason is the all-electronic payment system scheduled for 2021. The transport agency believes it makes more sense to wait and deploy both systems at the same time. Fare gates were scheduled for early this...