No ticket to ride: OC Transpo inspectors fining fewer fare jumpers

An articulated OC Transpo bus arrives in front of you. You don’t have change, or your Presto card, but you board through one of the back doors of the bus anyway — even though you’re a little nervous at flouting the rules.

Fortunately for you, there’s no inspector on board — and you reach your destination without getting a ticket.

This sort of scenario has become increasingly likely, as an analysis of OC Transpo ticket data by Radio-Canada shows that dodging fare inspectors is now easier than it’s been in a long time.

In 2013, 3,726 tickets were issued by OC Transpo fare inspectors for non-payment, or “tariff evasion,” according to statistics from the organization.

But in 2017, a mere 219 people were caught.

The fine for tariff evasion is set at $150. Therefore, it’s possible to estimate that catching fare-jumpers amounted to a $558,900 windfall for OC Transpo in 2013.

In 2017, that potential revenue would have fallen sharply, to around $32,850.