TTC could be losing $50 million a year from fare evasion

Fare evasion has always been a problem for the TTC, but it might be even worse than once thought. According to a new report, it could be costing the transit agency around $50 million a year.

For the last few years, the TTC has officially maintained annual fare loss numbers of about 2 percent, which is roughly $20 million of its $1.9 billion operating budget.

But figures from an internal report obtained by the Toronto Star show that amount could be more than double, with an evasion percentage of 4.4 percent.

That would be, like... eight new streetcars worth of revenue each year.

The figures, calculated by a consulting firm, have not been endorsed by the TTC, which is unconvinced of their accuracy.

As the Star notes, there's been considerable speculation that fare evasion rates are higher than the TTC projects, but the 2 percent figure remains the standard estimate in place.

Whatever the exact amount, fare evasion has very real economic consequences for the TTC. For its part, the Commission hopes the problem will be addressed with the full roll out of Presto across the system.