Thousands lost in unpaid bus fares in Saskatoon
The price of unpaid transit fares is on the rise, according to the City of Saskatoon.
A report heading to a city council committee shows that about $24,500 was lost in 2021, while in 2022 that number rose to $67,800.
While the lost revenue more than doubled year-to-year, the report notes that the loss represents just 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively of the annual budgeted fare revenue.
Issues with fare boxes also resulted in a loss — $165,000 for 2022, the report says.
Fare evasion is tracked by operators using the Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) on the bus, the report says,
“If the fare boxes are operable and a rider boards and rides the bus without payment, the operators are trained to record the fare evasion on the MDT at the time and location the fare evasion occurred.”
Transit operators have been instructed not to confront people who don’t pay their fare, but rather to record it with the MDT, according to the report.
Despite the increase in revenue loss, there are no plans to enforce fare evasion.
“A fare enforcer position has not been considered at Saskatoon Transit. A fare enforcer position would require direction and additional FTE(s) and funding approval from City Council,” the report says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.