Fare enforcement a 'significant cause' of OC Transpo bus driver assaults
OC Transpo says fare enforcement is a "significant cause" of bus driver assaults, with one third of all operator assaults linked to fare disputes over the past 10 years.
In response to an inquiry from Coun. Carol Anne Meehan about fare enforcement on buses and the O-Train, staff say there were 761 reported bus operator assaults between January 2012 and September 2021.
A total of 275 bus operator assaults were fare related over the 10 years, according to the city. The highest number of assaults due to fares was in 2017, with 50 operator assaults linked to fare enforcement.
"Fare enforcement interventions can create conflicts between bus operators and customers; fare enforcement is a significant cause of annual operator assaults," staff said in the report for Wednesday's Transit Commission meeting.
Transit operators remind customers to tap or pay their fare when a customer enters a bus.
Staff say OC Transpo has an "inform not enforce" method for fares, adding it's consistent with other transit operations across Canada.
"After the operator has informed a customer that they must pay a fare, if enforcement is required, bus operators are asked to call the operations control centre for assistance," staff say.
"Enforcement will then be provided by a mobile supervisor, fare inspector, or a special constable, depending on the situation."
OC Transpo currently has four fare inspectors, along with 47 special constables and four superintendents who patrol the system but do not conduct formal fare validation.
Meehan's inquiry asked staff about how many fare inspectors are employed by OC Transpo, is fare enforcement a priority in other cities and whether there is data that indicates fare inspections deter people from taking transit.
"Staff do not have sufficient evidence and have not found any research to allow conclusions to be drawn as to whether fare inspection methods discourage people from using transit," staff said.
OC Transpo did not provide an estimate on how much fare evasion cost the transit service. The report notes prepaid pass holders represent 80 per cent of OC Transpo's ridership.
The report says staff contacted municipal public transit agencies, with Calgary, Gatineau's STO and Montreal's STM having similar fare inspection policies.
"These agencies all use an education versus enforcement model for transit operators to reduce conflicts between operators and customers. Transit security is called to assist when interventions escalate or when support is required," staff said.
Bus operator assaults (fare related in parentheses)
- 2021 (Jan. to Dec.): 31 assaults (10)
- 2020: 65 assaults (18)
- 2019: 87 assaults (37)
- 2018: 105 assaults (41)
- 2017: 120 assaults (50)
- 2016: 87 assaults (25)
- 2015: 87 assaults (21)
- 2014: 47 assaults (14)
- 2013: 69 assaults (30)
- 2012: 63 assaults (29)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.