Report to/Rapport au:

Transportation Committee/Comité des transports

and Council/et au Conseil

20 June 2005/le 20 juin 2005

Submitted by/Soumis par: R.G. Hewitt

Acting Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint intérimaire,

Public Works and Services/Services et Travaux publics

Contact/Personne-ressource: G. Diamond, Director/Directeur,

Transit Services/Service du transport en commun

842-3636 ext. 2271, gordon.diamond@transpo.ottawa.on.ca

Ref N°: ACS2005-PWS-TRN-0005

SUBJECT: PROPOSED INCREASE IN TRANSIT FINESTHE FINE FOR FARE EVASION

OBJET: AUGMENTATION PROPOSÉE DES AMENDES DE TRANSPORT EN COMMUN

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That Transportation Committee recommend City Council approve an application to the Ministry of the Attorney General of the Province of Ontario, for an increase for fare-related fines in the fines for fare evasion from80 $80 to $2125 and and for conduct-related offences and traffic-related offences from $55 to $100.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil d’approuver une demande au ministère du Procureur général de la province de l’Ontario, afin d’augmenter les amendes liées aux tarifs de 80 $ à 125 $ et les infractions liées à la conduite et à la circulation de 55 $ à 100 $.

BACKGROUND

At its meeting of December 1, 2004, Committee received a report on Measures to Minimize Fare Evasion. This report raised a concern that fine levels were too low to act as an effective deterrent. Staff was instructed to monitor the effectiveness of transit fines and compare them with experience in other cities.

OC Transpo Security staff are empowered to issue fines for three categories of offences:

§ for customers who do not pay the proper fare;

§ for those who commit conduct-related offences on OC Transpo property; and

§ for unauthorized operation of a vehicle on the Transitway.

Fines are used as a deterrent. In the case of fare evasion, they are intended to protect revenue levels and in the cases of conduct and traffic offences, to protect the safety of customers and citizens in general and to minimize property damage due to vandalism.

The current fine for fare evasion is $80 and was last changed eleven years ago in (1994) when the fine was $53.75. The current fine for conduct and traffic related offences is $55, which has been in place for thirteen years (since 1992).

All set fines are subject to a legislated provincial victim of crime surcharge. In the case the $80 fare evasion fine, the surcharge is $20 (total of $100). In the case of $55 conduct-related and Transitway traffic-related offences, the surcharge for each fine is $15 (total of $70).

For comparative purposes, transit-related Exhibit 1 shows the fines currently in use in a number of other cities across Canada are shown in Table 1..

In addition, Table 2 shows fines for a cross-section of other City of Ottawa offences.

DISCUSSION

Fare-Related Fines

The application of fines for fare evasion is an integral part of the total effort to ensure that all passengers pay the proper fare and that the integrity of the fare system is upheld. Ensuring that the proper fare is collected is an ongoing requirement to protect revenue. Most of the attention on fare evasion is focused on the Proof of Payment (POP) system. This system allows customers to board through the middle and rear doors of articulated buses if they have a valid pass. Customers who board through the front door to pay with cash and/or tickets receive a transfer receipt. The O-Train vehicles and O-Train platforms also operate under a POP system.

Random checks are carried out on articulated buses, the O-Train and O-Train platforms and Provincial Offence Notices (PON) are issued to those passengers who do not have valid POP. Discretion is exercised when it is clear the customer has made an honest mistake such as, on the first day of the month, forgetting to get a new pass early in a month,or forgetting to write his/her photo ID numbers on their pass. In this case, a written notice is issued. Once Ccustomers receive one written notice, and then a PON is issued for any subsequent offences.

The fine for not producing valid proof of payment is $80. 80.victim surcharge levied by the Ministry of the Attorney General. In 2004, 1,485 PONs were issued for fare evasion. This represents an increase of 33 percent over 2003. Staff estimate that repeat offenders account for about five percent of all offences. Under these circumstances, when a person commits a fare evasion offence more than once, a summons is issued instead of a PON. This requires the offender to appear in court with the final penalty or fine determined by the court. This fine can be as high as $500.

Table 1 shows that Ottawa has the lowest fare-related fine at $80, followed by Toronto at $90 and Gatineau at $100. In the cases of Ottawa and Gatineau, repeat offenders can be issued a summons and could face fines up to $500. Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal have the highest fare-fraud fines at $150 with Montreal having an upset limit of $500 for repeat offenders. In the case of Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, their fine is equal to 2.4 times the price of their monthly pass. If this same formula were applied to the July 2005 OC Transpo adult regular pass of $65, the price of the fine would be $156.

Conduct-Related Fines

The primary responsibility of OC Transpo Security, staff, known as Transit Law Enforcement Officers (TLEOs), have the responsibility of ensuring is to ensure the safety and security of that it is safe for customers who travel on the OC  Transpo system at all times and that OC Transpo property is protected against vandalism., such as graffiti. If customers feel unsafe using transit, either on a bus or the O-Train or waiting at a station, then they will find alternative means of transportation or use transit only when absolutely required.

It is a big challenge to ensure safe passage for customers on buses, the O-Train and at major stations at all times of the day. During peak service, there are as many as 775 buses and two O-Trains in service across the city and 35 Transitway and O-Train stations to monitor.

TLEOs Staff work closely with Transit Supervisors and Transit Operators to ensure a safe transit environment. the Ottawa Police whenever a Whenever a serious occurrence takes place, the Ottawa Police, Fire and Ambulance services are called as appropriate.. TLEO staff carryout much of this enforcement by deploying special ‘walk and ride’ teams. There are currently six walk and ride teams and each team is made up of two TLEOs who spend the majority most of their time travelling on the bus and O-Train to ensure a make their presence highly visible. uniformed security presence. They are constantly on the lookout for potential problems and pay special attention to Transitway and O-Train stations.

In 2004, there were 364 PONs issued for conduct related offences. This is a five percent decrease from 2003. The current fine is $55.victim surcharge. This compares to $90 in Toronto and $90 in Toronto and $100 in Vancouver and Gatineau, as shown in Table 1. Only Calgary and Edmonton have a lower fine at $50. Compared to other conduct-related fines in the city, $55 is not considered a sufficient deterrent.

Traffic-Related Fines

The TLEOs also have the responsibility of ensuring the rules of vehicular operation on the Transitway and OC Transpo property are obeyed. Ottawa, Vancouver and Edmonton are the only cities to have this category of fine. During 2004, a total of 157 PONs were issued for traffic-related offences. This is a 19 percent increase over 2003. The current fine for an offence is 55$55. a victim surcharge. Although this is comparable to other transit properties that have this type of fine, the type of incident in Ottawa is likely to be much more serious because of the bus-only Transitway. For example, Hhaving unauthorized cars on the Transitway, unfamiliar with operational procedures, poses a serious safety risk to passengers and staff. Compared to other city and provincial fines shown in Table 2 and taking into account the significant increase in incidents since 2002, $55 is considered too low with little deterrent effect.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Fare-Related FinesEvasion

The current fine of $80 is virtually just aboutequivalent to the price of a monthly express pass, which is $78. Staff strongly urgewould favour an increase to make it a more effective deterrent to fraud and recommend that the fine be increased to $125, bringing it more into line with the fine levels in other Canadian cities.

Conduct-Related Fines

The conduct-related fine has been $55 since 1992 and is assessed as too low to act as an effective deterrent compared to other city conduct-related fines. It is recommended that this be increased to a minimum of $100, which would bring it into line with fine levels in other cities such as Vancouver Torontoand Gatineau ($90 and $100, respectively).

Traffic-Related Fines

The level of this fine has also been $55 since 1992. Expressed in today’s dollars, this would equate to a fine of To bring this to the same value today would make the fine $71. However, to ensure support the impact of it is comparable to other city and provincial fines and serve as an effective deterrent, it is recommended that it be increased to a minimum of $100.

CONSULTATION/PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

This issue was discussed at the meeting of the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee (PTAC) on March 17. Much of the discussion centred on fare fraud and ways to minimize it. On the question of increasing the fines, particularly an increase in the fare evasion fine to as high as $200, PTAC members’ views were widely split and no firm recommendation was made either way. Some felt that the current fine is too low to be an effective deterrent while others were concerned that a fine as high as $200 would be punitive. However, PTAC members did approve a motion endorsing the importance of increased fare inspection and the importance of minimizing fare fraud. A copy of the motion appears in Attachment 1. As a result of a recent arbitration decision, Transit Services is establishing six Transit Fare Enforcement Officer (TFEO) positions to enforce fare payment on POP buses.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The increase in fines is being sought primarily foremost to serve as a stronger deterrent against infractions rather than as a method to increase revenues. The increase in the fines, particularly for fare evasion, should reduce the number of infractions and thus the number of fines issued. However, theAn increase in fines will produce modest additional revenues. Based on the number of infractions in 2004, and discounting the probable increase in victim’s surcharge that is deducted from the portion of the fine that goes to the City, revenues from fare evasion fines would increase by about $59,000,. rRevenues from conduct-related fines would increase by about $14,000 and revenues from traffic-related fines would increase by about $6,000. The total increase in revenues if the 2004 level of incidents were repeated, would be approximately $79,000.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Table 1 – Summary of Transit Fines by Property

Table 2 – City of Ottawa Fines

Attachment 1 – PTAC Motion Endorsing Increased Fare Inspection

DISPOSITION

Should Transportation Committee recommend City Council approve the recommendation, and if City Council approves, application will be made to the Ministry of the Attorney General of the Province of Ontario for an increase for fare-related fines from $80 to $125 and for conduct-relate offences and traffic-related offences from $55 to $100.

TABLE 1

SUMMARY OF TRANSIT FINES BY PROPERTY

Property	Fare Fine $	Conduct Related Fine ($)	Traffic Fine $
Vancouver	150	100	75
Calgary	150	50	NA
Montreal	150	75	NA
Edmonton	110	50	50
Gatineau	100	100	NA
Toronto	90	90	NA
Ottawa	80	55	55

TABLE 2

CITY OF OTTAWA FINES

Infraction	Amount of Fine
Loud music	$305
Parking in a space reserved for physically disabled – no disability parking permit	$300
Speeding on city road (20-40 kph over speed limit)	$80 to $245
Smoking in public facility	$205
Participating in activities which would cause damage to the playing field	$205
Running a red light	$155
Being in a park between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. when closed	$100
Stopping in a bus zone on city streets	$75
Transitway conduct related fine	$55

ATTACHMENT 1

M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E

To / Destinataire	Joel Koffman, Program Manager Scheduling & Analysis Public Works and Services	File/N° de fichier:
From / Expéditeur	Carole Langford, Coordinator Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee
Subject / Objet	OC Transpo Fare Inspection	Date: 22 March 2005

At its 17 March 2005 meeting, the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee (PTAC) had an opportunity to discuss the issue of fare fraud. The Committee is concerned about the fiscal impact of fare fraud as even 1% translates into about $1 million lost revenue. PTAC believes a visible, active fare inspection program is the best deterrent to fare fraud.

PTAC therefore encourages OC Transpo to hire full time fare inspectors and have them covering all hours of operations and all days of the week.

The Committee approved the following motion:

That the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee support a visible fair inspection program with broad coverage (full time – 7 days a week).

Should you have any questions, please call me at 580-2424 extension 28934.

Thank you,

Carole Langford Carole Langford

cc: Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee