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Creating counterfeit transit passes is now as simple as making a colour photocopy on glossy card stock. And still Edmonton bus drivers say they’re waving through passengers who use fraudulent payment or no payment at all, rather than dealing with potential violence.

“You’ve got a fraction of a second and we’re directed not to enforce it anyway,” said one of several bus drivers who spoke with me about a steadily growing issue on Edmonton Transit buses.

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For a decade now, ever since driver Tom Bregg was brutally beaten over a fare dispute, drivers have been told not to enforce fare payment. Word gets around and now drivers say they’re seeing dozens of fare evasions each shift, with sometimes every other rider breezing past the fare box in certain areas of town.

It’s frustrating because the cost of transit fares are going up. Single parents struggle to pay, while any scofflaw waltzes on by. While few begrudge a free ride for someone down on their luck or at risk of freezing, the bus drivers I spoke with say fare evaders are more likely to be aggressive troublemakers who cause other issues on the bus.