Toronto Transit Agency Cracking Down on Fare Evasion With New Entry Policy

Riders take a subway train on the Toronto Transit Commission station in downtown Toronto, on April 1, 2023. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is cracking down on fare evasion by phasing out ‘no-tap’ gates at its subway stations.

No-tap gates automatically open for certain eligible customers, rather than having a TTC collector manually open the gate after a fare has been paid.

The first location to see the changes will be the Sheppard subway station, followed by a phased-in system-wide rollout of the policy, TTC said.

“As the TTC continues to tackle unacceptable levels of fare cheating, we are phasing out the ‘no tap’ gates at our subway stations - and it starts today with stations on Line 4 Sheppard,” the TTC said in a Sept. 9 post on the X platform.

In 2023, fare evasion cost the TTC $123.8 million, according to numbers released in March. The latest figure is twice the amount lost in 2019.

The study was the first investigation into fare evasion since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was based on observations made by plainclothes TTC employees from April 2023 to October 2023.

The loss of fares is money that could otherwise be used to improve service, the company said. Passengers caught not paying a fare can face a fine of up to $425.

“The fares we collect help us limit fare increases, deliver service, and maintain and [sic] our system. When you don’t pay your fare, you impact our ability to do this,” the TTC website says.

Passengers have several ways to pay fares, including cash, debit or credit cards, mobile wallets, TTC tickets, tokens, and PRESTO cards or passes.

TTC said a collector will be at the Sheppard station to assist with the new policy for those affected by the changes including children under 12, support persons, and those with paper transfers, or those using cash, tokens or TTC tickets. The TTC worker will manually open the gate.

Passengers who are not able to find a collector to open the gate are advised to press the green information button on the passenger assistance intercom at the gate.

The TTC has identified several methods of fare evasion, including entering a subway station through a bus bay, boarding a bus or streetcar without paying, and paying a lower fare when not eligible, such as a youth, senior, or student fare.

Fare evasion also includes those who enter a fare gate without paying, such as pushing a gate, hoping over it, or walking closely behind someone who is paying a fare.

In a March report, the TTC said streetcar services see the largest fare evasion at 29.6 percent. That number was 15.9 percent in 2019. Buses saw the second-highest fare evaders at 12.9 percent, up from 6.3 percent in 2019. TTC stations have seen the number of fare evasion increase from 2.4 percent in 2019 to 6.3 percent in 2023.