TORONTO, ONTARIO – (February 10, 2020) – Carlos Santos, President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, released the following statement regarding the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Fare Evasion Study (2019) for consideration at the February 11, 2020 TTC Audit and Risk Management Committee.
“The TTC’s Fare Evasion Study makes evident the Commission’s wrongheaded approach to addressing its increasing lost revenues, which cost Toronto’s public transit system and its riders an estimated $73.5 million a year. Despite the study footing the blame squarely on the ‘cumulative impact of significant changes implemented by the TTC’, its recommendations target riders who try their best to pay despite chronic overcrowding and faulty Presto technology brought to us by Metrolinx. Riders experience the consequences of an underfunded system on their commutes daily, and do not need more punitive measures like increased plain clothed inspections that do nothing to improve the public transit system. The TTC should join with Toronto’s transit workers to advocate for fair government funding to lower fares, increase service and maintenance, and rethink its disastrous ‘station modernization’ policies that contribute directly to lost revenues to truly build a world-class city.
From the start of the implementation of the faulty Presto technology, it became clear only Toronto’s public transit workers have the experience, trust and training to adequately operate and maintain the TTC. With increases in projected lost revenues, ATU Local 113 remains adamant the TTC must reinstate collectors at all TTC Subway stations as the cash-starved Commission continues to grapple with the consequences of increasing lost revenues.”