I’ll make it real clear off the top: you should pay your TTC fare.

I note that to avoid any confusion about what I am about to tell you about the Toronto Transit Commission’s plan to step up fare enforcement, which is that its plan is bad. Just because I see red flags in the TTC’s crackdown strategy does not mean I favour everyone skipping the fare box. Paying your fare is generally good. The TTC’s plan is specifically bad.

Why? Let’s count the ways.

First, the TTC’s plan to hire 50 additional revenue protection officers, some of whom will patrol the system undercover in plain clothes, comes less than a year after Toronto ombudsman Susan Opler issued a report on an incident, caught on video, during which a young Black man was pinned to the ground by three transit officers. Opler found the TTC’s internal investigation of the incident, which cleared the officers, was “not adequately thorough, fair and transparent” and failed to consider “evidence that might have suggested unconscious racial bias.”

After the report, TTC CEO Rick Leary set up an anti-racism task force, but the agency has given itself no time to build trust that officers will operate without bias or violence before ramping up enforcement efforts.

Viral videos like the one we saw last week, of officers getting physical with a rider and ordering an onlooker to stop recording them, don’t help.

Second, there’s evidence suggesting the TTC’s fare evasion problem is not even one best solved by hiring a bunch of officers.

A new report says the TTC lost $70.3 million to fare evasion last year. That’s a lot, but a closer look at the numbers shows that evasion rate on the subway system is low at 2.4 per cent. The reported evasion rate on buses, at 6.3 per cent, is a bit high, but hardly worth sounding the alarm. There’s always going to be some level of fare evasion. It’s the streetcar rate, at a whopping 15.9 per cent, that looks troubling.

But wait, before accusing one of every six streetcar riders of being a scofflaw, maybe there are other factors worth considering with those streetcar numbers. Like, say, Presto equipment with notorious reliability issues. Or on-board ticket vending machines that are also out-of-service 16 per cent of the time, according to TTC audits, and no longer accept debit cards or credit cards — something that isn’t clear to riders until after they board.

Plus, have you ever tried to make your way to a functioning Presto machine when a streetcar is packed? Sometimes you’d need to bodysurf.

Maybe streetcar evasion rates would still be high if all the equipment worked perfectly and was always accessible, but it would make sense to test that theory before jumping straight to enforcement.

Third, there’s the greater context of the crackdown. Toronto is focusing on transit riders at the time enforcement for all sorts of other commuter behaviour has gotten lax. A recent Star analysis found traffic tickets issued for things like speeding and blowing stop signs declined significantly over the last decade. Meanwhile, the maximum $425 fine charged to riders for fare evasion is far higher than most traffic fines, despite fare evaders not generally moving at high speeds and killing people.

It’s a question of priorities. Is protecting a $3.25 fare more important than protecting someone’s life?

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Finally, there’s the fact that all this crackdown talk is motivated by money. The TTC has put $10 million in new revenue from fare compliance in its 2020 budget. If it doesn’t get it — either through more fare payments or more rider fines — its budget could be in deficit.

The budget implications could create a sense of urgency among enforcement officers and management that increases the potential for more conflict and violence. Add that to overcrowded vehicles, busted equipment and a context where transit riders get hounded while drivers get away with recklessness, and little about this fare crackdown seems fair.