The role of Transit police once the new fare gates are in place on Metro Vancouver’s transit system is still up for discussion.
Translink Chief Operating officer Doug Kelsey says Transit police aren’t going away but what they do once the gates are open hasn’t been decided.
“I think we’re going to have to monitor that over time. But, if you go to Boston and other markets, the police disappearing off a gated system is not going to be the case, they perform so many other functions.”
Kelsey also says Transit police will likely still continue to check fares because he says the new fare gates won’t stop everyone from getting on the system for free.
With that news, the BC Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it’s further evidence of Translink wasting cash.
“Translink, in this day and age, where they’re searching so hard for efficiencies, they should take a step back, look at the Transit Police and say, is there a cheaper way to police our system? Would a regional force be cheaper? Would primarily going to transit security be cheaper? The answer is yes, but they don’t seem willing to try.”
The gates are only a few feet high so it won’t be impossible to jump over them.
“It completely defeats the purpose of these fare gates. Why didn’t they design in a way that wouldn’t be foolproof. They designed these fare gates to try and keep people out, but they didn’t go whole hog and make sure that people can get through. They’re still low enough that there’ll be folks jumping over.”
Bateman adds up to now he was under the impression Transit police would be redeployed to bus loops or riding on busses, rather than simply doing the job the fare gates are supposed to do, check tickets.
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