ksun
Senior Member
We all know how outdated TTC's fare system is. And based on my observation, this gives rise to considerable loopholes in terms of fare evasion. Let me give some examples here.
1) day passes
In theory, it should only give two adults unlimited trips during weekend and holidays, but it can be abused easily. For example, A and B can get in the train at Queen, stop at any station, such as Broadview, one of them exit and pick up C and continue to trip.
If more than two passengers need to get in at the same subway station, two of them could go inside, and pass out the pass through a non-manned entrance, so that another 2 can enter. Or one of them get out and pick up another passenger who is waiting at a different entrance of the same station (for some stations such as Queen, Dundas etc, there are multiple fare gate at different sides of the tracks). This works for metropasses as well.
2) transfers
I have seen students do that all the time, especially in downtown when stations are close to each other.
A get in king station using one token, take any number of transfers he wants, get out and walk with B, C, D etc and all of them can use the transfer on the 501 along Queen, which is only 300 meters away. So one fare worked for multiple passengers.
Have you seen passengers taking a bunch of transfers? that's probably why.
3) backtracking trips
In theory one ticket should not allow a return trip. For example, if you get a transfer from Yonge/Dundas on a WB 505, you can't use the transfer to take a EB streetcar upon returning. But one can easily do that by going to Dundas/Spadina or Bathurst for example, do whatever they need to do nearby, then using the transfer northward to go to Spadina/Bathurst station. Once you are in the subway station, TTC has no control over which direction you are headed afterwards, including backtracking ones.
4) negligent fare inspectors
Don't we constantly pass the fare gate only the find the ticket inspectors don't even bother raising their eyes to check? I wonder if you hold a transfer from a week ago, or just a random one on the ground, what are the chances the inspector will actually check the date and time. They seldom do. TTC ticket inspectors are overstaffed, but rarely do their job well.
There are probably many more creative ways to cheat the outdated TTC fare system, which relies on paper based ticket and passes and human inspection. And I believe the amount of fare evasion is much much higher than TTC itself estimated. Until a fully automated system is adopted avoiding human inspection completely, fare evasion will continue to exist (especially consider how expensive it is for short trips).
1) day passes
In theory, it should only give two adults unlimited trips during weekend and holidays, but it can be abused easily. For example, A and B can get in the train at Queen, stop at any station, such as Broadview, one of them exit and pick up C and continue to trip.
If more than two passengers need to get in at the same subway station, two of them could go inside, and pass out the pass through a non-manned entrance, so that another 2 can enter. Or one of them get out and pick up another passenger who is waiting at a different entrance of the same station (for some stations such as Queen, Dundas etc, there are multiple fare gate at different sides of the tracks). This works for metropasses as well.
2) transfers
I have seen students do that all the time, especially in downtown when stations are close to each other.
A get in king station using one token, take any number of transfers he wants, get out and walk with B, C, D etc and all of them can use the transfer on the 501 along Queen, which is only 300 meters away. So one fare worked for multiple passengers.
Have you seen passengers taking a bunch of transfers? that's probably why.
3) backtracking trips
In theory one ticket should not allow a return trip. For example, if you get a transfer from Yonge/Dundas on a WB 505, you can't use the transfer to take a EB streetcar upon returning. But one can easily do that by going to Dundas/Spadina or Bathurst for example, do whatever they need to do nearby, then using the transfer northward to go to Spadina/Bathurst station. Once you are in the subway station, TTC has no control over which direction you are headed afterwards, including backtracking ones.
4) negligent fare inspectors
Don't we constantly pass the fare gate only the find the ticket inspectors don't even bother raising their eyes to check? I wonder if you hold a transfer from a week ago, or just a random one on the ground, what are the chances the inspector will actually check the date and time. They seldom do. TTC ticket inspectors are overstaffed, but rarely do their job well.
There are probably many more creative ways to cheat the outdated TTC fare system, which relies on paper based ticket and passes and human inspection. And I believe the amount of fare evasion is much much higher than TTC itself estimated. Until a fully automated system is adopted avoiding human inspection completely, fare evasion will continue to exist (especially consider how expensive it is for short trips).