Average of 7,700 fare checks per day in TransLink enforcement blitz | Daily Hive

Average of 7,700 fare checks per day in TransLink's fare enforcement blitz

Transit Security Officer checking the fares of bus passengers. (TransLink)

An individual without a fare or with the wrong fare while riding Metro Vancouver’s public transit system is now significantly more likely to be caught by TransLink’s Transit Security Officers and Transit Police during fare inspections, compared to 2023.

TransLink began increasing fare enforcement checks in the first six months of 2024, before officially launching its fare enforcement blitz in early July 2024 with even higher inspection frequencies. The heightened frequency of checks has continued through 2025 to date.

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Statistics provided by TransLink to Daily Hive Urbanized show that there were approximately 1.4 million fare inspections between July and December 2024, averaging around 7,700 checks per day during this six-month period.

This marks an 80 per cent increase compared to the approximately 776,000 fare inspections between January and June 2024, which averaged about 4,200 checks per day.

As well, the number of fare inspections in the second six half of 2024 is three times higher than the number of checks conducted in 2023. The first half of 2023 saw 432,000 fare inspections (average of about 2,300 checks per day), while the second half of 2023 saw 457,000 inspections (average of about 2,400 checks per day).

On an annual basis, approximately 2.2 million fare checks were performed in 2024, compared to 889,000 in 2023.

Dan Mountain, a spokesperson for TransLink, told Daily Hive Urbanized today that fare inspections could involve verifying whether customers have paid the correct fare or simply observing customers tapping through.

Daily Hive Urbanized has observed that fare checks are conducted onboard buses, at bus stops, and at fare gates, with officers using handheld devices to check the validity of cards and single-trip tickets while filtering passengers.

translink fare gates canada line skytrain subway waterfront station f

TransLink fare gates at the Waterfront Station of SkyTrain’s Canada Line. (Kenneth Chan)

He says that the fare enforcement blitz appears to be working as intended.

“Anecdotally, the increased enforcement efforts have helped to educate riders and those performing the checks have noticed an increase in correct payments,” said Mountain.

Over the course of 2024, over 32,300 fare infraction notices were given out.

“Heightened fare enforcement checks have continued in 2025 to deter fare evasion, educate riders about fare payments, and improve safety on the system,” he continued.

“We are currently gathering data to estimate fare evasion across our system over a large sample size.”

Last year, TransLink provided a rough estimate that it loses about $40 million in fare revenue annually due to fare evasion. This figure is significant, as it is greater than the combined cost of operating the entire SkyTrain network and the West Coast Express commuter rail for three months.

Through the fare enforcement blitz that began in July 2024, it hopes to reduce fare evasion by $5 million per year.

Individuals caught without paying their fare or without proof of payment in a fare-paid zone are subject to a fine of $173.00, which increases over time if it is not paid. If an individual does not pay the fare infraction ticket, the ticket may be sent to a collection agency, the individual may not be able to obtain or renew their driver’s licence or vehicle insurance. On the 180th day after the ticket was issued, the fine will go up by $40. On the 366th day after the ticket was issued, the fine will go up by $60.

Overall ridership on the TransLink system recovered to 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels by early 2023, and reached and surpassed 90 percent in September 2023, a level that has been sustained since.

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