mr.x
June 15th, 2007, 08:23 PM
Buses to operate like SkyTrain
Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, June 15, 2007
GREATER VANCOUVER - Greater Vancouver buses will soon operate more like SkyTrains, with passengers required to carry proof of payment and the 99 B-Line on Broadway allowing boarding through all bus doors.
Beginning June 25, all buses and community shuttles will be clearly marked "fare paid zones" and anyone unable to prove they've paid may be removed by transit police or security and fined $173. The change means bus riders will need to hold onto their tickets even if they don't plan to transfer buses.
A big reason for the changes is to reduce conflicts between bus drivers and passengers who refuse to pay their fares, said TransLink media relations officer Drew Snider.
Snider said although drivers will continue to check passes and receive fare payments, if a dispute arises with a passenger about the fare, the driver will no longer be required to deal with it. Instead, he or she will have the option of calling transit police or security.
Jim Houlahan, vice-president of the bus drivers' union, said the initiative will make drivers safer. Houlahan said 220 physical assaults and serious verbal attacks were reported by drivers last year, a high percentage of them when drivers tried to collect fares.
The change on the 99 B-Line is a summer-long trial to see if three-door loading is more efficient and might reduce the need to buy more of the big articulated buses. The busy route runs from the Broadway SkyTrain station to the University of B.C. Three-door boarding was already allowed at the two starting points of the 99 B-Line.
Those who need to buy or validate tickets will still need to board at the front door of the articulated buses, but others will be able to pile on at the middle and rear entrances. Snider said he does not think the new boarding policy will increase fare evasion, because "people will think twice about it because of the size of the fine."
Sgt. Willie Merenick, of the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority police, said ticket enforcement on the 99 B-Line will be similar to that seen now on SkyTrains, with regular spot checks of tickets.
TransLink's Ken Hardie couldn't say if spot checks would happen regularly on other bus routes, but cautioned, "there can be an inspection at any place at any time."
Critics say the new policies don't address the root of the city's transit problems: high fares and a shortage of buses.
Yuli Chan, an organizer with the Vancouver Bus Riders Union, said three-door boarding will not help the problem of long waits and overcrowding on buses. Chan also said she thinks a fare-paid zone could exacerbate conflict between drivers and those who can't afford to pay, and said it's a part of the "criminalization that's [continuing] of bus riders."
"If they really want to reduce the conflict and they really want to make sure people are paying the fares, they should lower it instead of putting all this funding towards hiring and training more transit police and increasing cameras and surveillance," Chan said.
Hardie said TransLink is recruiting 40 transit police officers to add to the 110 current officers who focus mainly on SkyTrain.
Snider defended the need to issue large fines to people caught without a ticket, saying police have apprehended many wanted criminals through routine ticket checks on SkyTrain.
TransLink has proposed a 25-cent fare increase in 2008, bringing the cost of riding a bus to $2.50 for one-zone and $3.50 for two-zone.
crolfsen@png.canwest.com
The Bus Riders Union sure aren't masters of logic...anyhow, great to see this!
Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, June 15, 2007
GREATER VANCOUVER - Greater Vancouver buses will soon operate more like SkyTrains, with passengers required to carry proof of payment and the 99 B-Line on Broadway allowing boarding through all bus doors.
Beginning June 25, all buses and community shuttles will be clearly marked "fare paid zones" and anyone unable to prove they've paid may be removed by transit police or security and fined $173. The change means bus riders will need to hold onto their tickets even if they don't plan to transfer buses.
A big reason for the changes is to reduce conflicts between bus drivers and passengers who refuse to pay their fares, said TransLink media relations officer Drew Snider.
Snider said although drivers will continue to check passes and receive fare payments, if a dispute arises with a passenger about the fare, the driver will no longer be required to deal with it. Instead, he or she will have the option of calling transit police or security.
Jim Houlahan, vice-president of the bus drivers' union, said the initiative will make drivers safer. Houlahan said 220 physical assaults and serious verbal attacks were reported by drivers last year, a high percentage of them when drivers tried to collect fares.
The change on the 99 B-Line is a summer-long trial to see if three-door loading is more efficient and might reduce the need to buy more of the big articulated buses. The busy route runs from the Broadway SkyTrain station to the University of B.C. Three-door boarding was already allowed at the two starting points of the 99 B-Line.
Those who need to buy or validate tickets will still need to board at the front door of the articulated buses, but others will be able to pile on at the middle and rear entrances. Snider said he does not think the new boarding policy will increase fare evasion, because "people will think twice about it because of the size of the fine."
Sgt. Willie Merenick, of the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority police, said ticket enforcement on the 99 B-Line will be similar to that seen now on SkyTrains, with regular spot checks of tickets.
TransLink's Ken Hardie couldn't say if spot checks would happen regularly on other bus routes, but cautioned, "there can be an inspection at any place at any time."
Critics say the new policies don't address the root of the city's transit problems: high fares and a shortage of buses.
Yuli Chan, an organizer with the Vancouver Bus Riders Union, said three-door boarding will not help the problem of long waits and overcrowding on buses. Chan also said she thinks a fare-paid zone could exacerbate conflict between drivers and those who can't afford to pay, and said it's a part of the "criminalization that's [continuing] of bus riders."
"If they really want to reduce the conflict and they really want to make sure people are paying the fares, they should lower it instead of putting all this funding towards hiring and training more transit police and increasing cameras and surveillance," Chan said.
Hardie said TransLink is recruiting 40 transit police officers to add to the 110 current officers who focus mainly on SkyTrain.
Snider defended the need to issue large fines to people caught without a ticket, saying police have apprehended many wanted criminals through routine ticket checks on SkyTrain.
TransLink has proposed a 25-cent fare increase in 2008, bringing the cost of riding a bus to $2.50 for one-zone and $3.50 for two-zone.
crolfsen@png.canwest.com
The Bus Riders Union sure aren't masters of logic...anyhow, great to see this!