The Victoria Transit Riders Union (VTRU) is calling on the BC government to fully fund public transportation and eliminate fees for all riders.
This comes as BC Transit implements a new ‘Fare Awareness and Enforcement Program,’ which will see uniformed transit supervisors checking if riders have paid adequately.
VTRU says these fare evasion crackdowns are ineffective, inefficient, unjust, dangerous and disproportionately affect poor and racialized people.
The Fare Awareness and Enforcement Program is slated to launch on July 7th, and will begin with transit supervisors handing out educational materials on fares and searching for people who have not paid.
However, “stronger enforcement measures” will be introduced as the program progresses.
This program mirrors similar crackdowns on fare evasion that have been implemented in Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto.
According to VTRU, Vancouver’s Translink claims its crackdown has generated $3.2 million in additional revenue over six months, but did not report the cost of the increased enforcement on buses and the SkyTrain.
They added that BC Transit’s justification for cracking down on fare evasion in Victoria is difficult to assess adequately because the Crown corporation only reports combined revenue from advertising and fares, with no way of assessing fare evasion.
Furthermore, the supports that BC Transit claims are available to riders who cannot afford transit are inadequate, stigmatizing and difficult to access, according to VTRU.
VTRU says that a fare-free transit system in BC would be much more cost-effective and humane.
“The last thing we need in the face of the climate and affordability crises is to be putting resources into harassing folks trying to use public transit,” said Christina Clemente, chair of VTRU.
“You can’t harass or ‘educate’ people into having the money for fares. This is a disturbing move by BC Transit. We want to see the BC Government move toward fully funding transit and eliminating fares, not presiding over increased enforcement.”
In many North American cities, free transit has been successful and has prompted more frequent use of transit systems, eliminated the need to put resources towards fare evasion and helped contribute to municipalities’ climate action plans.
“Free transit is hands-down the best way to prevent fare evasion,” said Nathan Bird, VTRU member.
“There is zero fare evasion in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or in Richmond, Virginia, or in Kansas City, because the bus is free in these places. There is no suspicion, no resentment, no fines, no profiling. There is only freedom of movement.”
VTRU is now calling on the provincial government to immediately eliminate fares for all BC teens (under 18-years-old) and seniors (over 65-years-old).
Following this, the organization hopes the Province will transition as quickly as possible to universal fare-free transit that is funded through fair and socially-just taxation.
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