Just a few days after introducing their new severe fines, Translink and the provincial government are scrambling to close a loophole that can allow fare evaders to walk away Scott free from transit police.
Transit Police officers have revealed that under the new fare collection bylaw, if someone who’s caught without a valid fare refuses to provide identification, officers must allow that person to walk away without issuing a ticket.
The new law was drafted to give TransLink the power to collect fines after it was revealed earlier this year that fare evasion tickets were going unpaid because there was no mechanism in the law to force people to pay up.