‘Public transit fines should be abolished’: Riders react to GO Transit fare evasion fines jumping from $35 to $200

Anyone who attempts to ride GO Transit without paying may be hit with more than a slap on the wrist starting next month.

Beginning Sept. 8, Metrolinx said it will be increasing fines for fare evasion on GO Trains, GO buses and UP Express.

Customers travelling without paying will now be expected to pay more than $200 as a result.

The new fine increases are the following:

• First offence: $200 (formerly $35)
• Second offence: $300 (formerly $50)
• Third offence: $400 (formerly $100)
• Fourth offence: $500 (formerly a provincial offences summons and a $200 fine)
• Fifth offence: A Provincial Offence Notice with a set fine established by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (formerly a provincial offences summons and a $200 fine)
• Sixth offence and beyond: A court summons, with fines of up to $1,000 upon conviction (formerly a provincial offences summons and a $200 fine)

The initial fine system had first-time offenders issued a $35 fine, originally reduced from $100, to “add a middle ground between warnings and large fines,” according to Metrolinx.

The changes come after Metrolinx proposed the increase to its board of directors in June.

With the new adjustments, the government agency expects to bring in revenue of around $6.79 million to $10.18 million, if only 40 to 60 per cent of those ticketed follow through with payment.

The report to the board said higher fines typically reduce instances of “voluntary payment behaviour.”

Many Ontario residents reacted to the new increases, calling the change “devastating.”

“When I was 18, I got charged the first-offense fine the first time I tried to use the GO. I was running late because of a TTC delay …and assumed that since there was no gate to get to the platform, I would tap on the train like the streetcars,” one Reddit user explained. “At that age [I] was upset about the $35 fine; I would have been devastated by $200.”

Another Redditor agreed, saying there had to be a way to distinguish between those who forget to tap on and those who avoid doing so deliberately.

“$200 is a f**king devastating blow to people mostly making a first-time good-faith mistake,” they wrote. “This is such a load of hooey.”

Others commented on the steep increase in the first-offence ticket.

“Subsequent violations are one thing but $200 for a first offense is ridiculous,” one Reddit user wrote. “Imagine paying for an e-ticket, but then you get fined $200 just because you forget to activate it.”

Another resident said fare inspectors are also not as understanding as they used to be.

“Not really a big fan of increased fines, as the fare inspectors maybe used to use discretion ten years ago, but now they catch someone with a missed tap and act like they just caught someone with a brick of heroin,” the Redditor explained.

Some pointed out that the new fine increase targeted those who may not be able to afford the fare or use the transit as a cheap commuter option.

“It’s bigger fines for those with the least money,” one Reddit user said.

“It makes zero sense to constantly go after public transit users, none of whom are rich, and most of whom are unlikely to pay up because they can’t afford it,” another user agreed. “We should be implementing income-based fines for drivers, and all public transit fines should be lowered or abolished.”

Many residents put the onus on Metrolinx.

“They should just install gates for both tap-in and out, and calculate the fare correspondingly, so no one will mistake (or pretend to mistake) not paying, and there is less ambiguity about it,” one Reddit user said.

“They need to step up their inspections if they are going to actually fine people,” another Redditor wrote.