Metrolinx, a government agency in Ontario that oversees public transport in the southern part of the province, has set targets for the number of fines that inspectors should issue to GO train riders every month for not paying their fares.
Internal records obtained by CBC shows a breakdown of the number of inspections and notices of violation that Metrolinx wants customer protection officers and revenue protection officers to issue and how many was completed and issued on each of its eight regional train lines.
Notices of violation are fines issued by GO Transit to passengers who do not provide proof of payment when requested.
Metrolinx implemented a graduated fee structure for those fines in October 2022 so that first-time offenders are fined $35, second-time offenders are fined $50 and anyone with three offences is fined $100.
According to an employee who spoke under anonymity, the transit agency introduced a monthly target for the fines in September and while internal reports use the word “target,” the employee describes the figure as more akin to a quota.The new monthly target raises a red flag for August Puranauth, a transit advocate with TTCriders, a group that represents transit riders in Toronto.
Puranauth said: “Having a fare evasion fine quota could possibly mean that GO enforcement are profiling riders, and that could be profiling based on race, based on appearance.”
