Living in Toronto is synonymous with a frustrating public transit system. Delays, off-route streetcars, if they show up at all, and sparse subway routes are part of the everyday experience. Personally, I’ve adjusted my emotions to find this a charming quality about the city, like an absent-minded parent/friend/romantic partner, who just can’t seem to remember dates or appointments – you learn to love them for it. But feelings are nebulous, and charming can quickly metamorphose into frustration, particularly when you find out that the chronically under-funded TTC is now employing plain-clothes inspectors on buses to hunt fare evaders.
Let me just get this out of the way: Pay your fare. Do your part. Help the TTC stay solvent.
Now – TTC is one of the most fare-dependent transit systems in North America, let alone the world. The pandemic took a massive hit on the transit system due to people staying home, and it’s still recovering. The TTC is primarily reliant on the City of Toronto for its funding, and provincial and federal governments keep their pursestrings tightly closed, leading to heavy reliance on riders. This is obviously unsustainable – we all know it’s foolish to rely on riders because ridership frequency will never be stable or linear. Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government hasn’t stepped in to help the TTC’s chronic underfunding woes, instead focusing on construction projects like the Ontario Line. This expansion of the subway system is much needed, and it’s a good project. However, we must remain cognizant that a construction project makes for sexier PR than funding the TTC.
Fare inspectors: Shooting the messenger
Fare evasions cost the TTC millions of dollars each year – according to an internal audit released in March 2024: Almost 12 per cent of riders evaded fares in 2023 costing Toronto’s transit system $123.8 million in fares. The same audit also revealed that fare evasion nearly doubled between 2018 and 2023. When a large portion of the transit system is relying on people’s honour to pay their fare share, of course fare inspectors are necessary to check if the system is working from time to time.
However, when the City decides to hire more inspectors and then dress them in plain clothes to hunt fare evaders, it begins to feel like a slap in the face as riders are constantly dealing with delays, unreliable service and an overall frustrating transit system. Fare inspectors also cost money – they’re paid a starting salary of $31.23 an hour (about $60K a year) excluding benefits, and some can earn over $100K. While inspectors are important within reason, this money can also be better spent. People don’t skip fares for fun (maybe some): it’s simply not reliable enough for an expensive service and perhaps people are skipping because they’re not getting their money’s worth.
I absolutely respectfully disagree with this Toronto Star column arguing that a public shaming culture should be enforced so people stop skipping fares. No thank you. I think who needs to be shamed are provincial and federal governments who have skipped on paying their fair share of subsidies to one of the biggest transit systems in North America, in a city that is Canada’s economic engine. Shame them, not the people.
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Nick Seebruch, editor
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