Transit unions oppose SkyTrain turnstiles
21 October, 2010
category: Contactless, Transit
Unions representing transit workers are urging TransLink to discard its plan to install turnstiles on Vancouver’s SkyTrain lines in an effort to reduce fare evasion. Instead, the unions say, TransLink should concentrate on improving transit service.
“The ongoing costs – the operating and maintenance costs – will be higher than anything that could possibly be recouped from fare evasion and will come every year out of the annual budget,” said a union representative.
TransLink rejected turnstiles in 2005 when it estimated they would cost $32 million a year to finance, staff and maintain, while only generating an extra $2.9 million of the money previously lost to fare evasion.
Under the new project, SkyTrain and SeaBus stations will be outfitted with readers that will be able to track each fare collected based on point of entry, departure, route, and time of day. The $171 million project includes development of a smart card system.
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