Fare evasion on the TTC could be costing the transit agency tens of millions of dollars more than it has previously disclosed. In recent years the TTC has consistently told the media and the public that fare evasion rates on the system are within range of the industry standard of 2 per cent, and that fare dodgers cost the organization roughly $20 million a year. But an internal TTC document obtained by the Star includes numbers roughly double those. The document states that the system-wide evasion rate is 4.4 per cent, and fare cheats are draining the agency of $49 million every year. Read more:TTC budget proposal calls for fare freeze, no extra service in 2018GO Transit users to get half-price fares on TTCTTC received 114 complaints about fare inspectors last yearTTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the agency stands by the lower numbers it has released publicly, which were derived from a TTC audit conducted six years ago. He said the higher numbers were collected by a consultant firm in 2015 and 2016 as part of a study for a fare evasion action plan, and were presented to “a small staff working group” in November, “at which time concerns were raised about the veracity” of the figures. “As a result, TTC staff decided that it could not be presented as fact or as a TTC-sanctioned finding,” Green said in an email. No matter which number is accurate, the amount the TTC loses to fare evasion is a small percentage of its $1.9-billion operating budget. However, a 2-per-cent reduction in evasion rates would save the agency more than $29 million annually, according to the TTC, enough to offset the cost of implementing the new two-hour timed transfer policy, or avoid a future 10-cent fare increase.The document the Star has seen is a portion of a presentation to the TTC executive team about revenue control. It is dated Nov. 20, 2017, and was sent to the Star anonymously. Green didn’t dispute its authenticity but said the document wa ...
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