I’d say a bit of both. The numbers they showed for it if I remember was that they spent $150m to catch like $100,000 of fares that were skipped. Then throw in 4 people dead and you didn’t do much to help. You just made it more miserable for people travelling.
With fares making up 23% of your income, and payroll taking up over 30% of expenses… Odds are they could cut the number of guards patrolling tolls, ticket sales people, customer service reps, maintenance workers for all the machines/guard terminals etc by a shit ton and make the transportation free, and offset the costs elsewhere. It would also likely boost the economy of the area, do to people not needing to scrape together a couple dollars to take the train and spending it at businesses they otherwise may normally avoid do to costs or not having that extra few dollars.
Well, I’ll give you an update here as I have boots on the ground:
They cut back on the amount of cops on the platforms now—but now every single exit door has a private guard (one of those rent a cop companies). So now they’re bringing privatized security into the mix. But there are still cops on the platforms! Just not as many at the door because they’ve hired some security guards to have the same effect an MTA person has, which means they can’t really do shit if you don’t let them stop you.
In Ontario, asshole political leader Doug Ford is trying to stop free public transit by paying for transit cops out of the provincial budget. That way no one can make the payment you just made. Can we have the same amount of money to spend on improving public transit? No. The only thing fearless leader Doug Ford fears more than free public transit is good public transit.
What a bag of dicks. Watch other conservative states and provinces follow his lead!
I’d say a bit of both. The numbers they showed for it if I remember was that they spent $150m to catch like $100,000 of fares that were skipped. Then throw in 4 people dead and you didn’t do much to help. You just made it more miserable for people travelling.
With fares making up 23% of your income, and payroll taking up over 30% of expenses… Odds are they could cut the number of guards patrolling tolls, ticket sales people, customer service reps, maintenance workers for all the machines/guard terminals etc by a shit ton and make the transportation free, and offset the costs elsewhere. It would also likely boost the economy of the area, do to people not needing to scrape together a couple dollars to take the train and spending it at businesses they otherwise may normally avoid do to costs or not having that extra few dollars.
Well, I’ll give you an update here as I have boots on the ground:
They cut back on the amount of cops on the platforms now—but now every single exit door has a private guard (one of those rent a cop companies). So now they’re bringing privatized security into the mix. But there are still cops on the platforms! Just not as many at the door because they’ve hired some security guards to have the same effect an MTA person has, which means they can’t really do shit if you don’t let them stop you.
So a slightly different way to waste money.
In Ontario, asshole political leader Doug Ford is trying to stop free public transit by paying for transit cops out of the provincial budget. That way no one can make the payment you just made. Can we have the same amount of money to spend on improving public transit? No. The only thing fearless leader Doug Ford fears more than free public transit is good public transit.
What a bag of dicks. Watch other conservative states and provinces follow his lead!
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/doug-ford-announces-money-for-cops-asylum-seekers-in-ottawa-no-new-transit-funds-1.7098980
Wait, where in Ontario has free transit? The topic of your article, Ottawa, charges for transit.
It was floated last election and has made the rounds a few times. This is a pre emptive attack.