Quote:
Originally Posted by temple5
If they want to make up the funding deficit, they should install the turnstiles and hire more officers to check for tickets.
I know at least a couple of people who openly brag about not paying for tickets durring rush hour because its so packed in the train they would never check and they only ride at peak times so they never pay.
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Beyond a certain point, increased fare enforcement costs more than the fares that would be recouped by doing so. The Calgary Transit organization would be better able to say what that point is, but I'd imagine that we are close to it now. The marginal cost of increased fare enforcement, whatever form it takes, is high compared to the cost that fare evaders place on the system, which is low. Labour is expensive. At a certain point some people will be dissuaded from evading fare and the rest will just do so anyway, and the costs of doing more enforcement just won't see much return (law of diminishing returns).
Making the LRT system "closed" is also likely not in the offing. Turnstiles and other such devices would, on a functional basis only, probably get fare evasion numbers down. However, people still evade fare on systems that use turnstiles. They have to be a little more inventive about it, but still do. On an implementation basis, the way many stations are designed in Calgary doesn't lend itself to putting in turnstiles. Think of walk-on centre-load stations such as McKnight-Westwinds and Somerset-Bridlewood, or staggered side-load platforms like Shawnessy Station and the future Martindale Station. Turnstiles might be able to be installed, but at the expense of pedestrian and train flow, and in some cases safety. Turnstiles can also not replace officers. There needs to be a human presence for safety and security reasons. This is of course without mentioning the capital cost of installation, and the operational costs of this equipment.
Of course, this is viewing the topic of transit peace officers in the context of their value in enforcing fare payment. It does not take into account any value that would be placed on an authority presence's role in increasing real or perceived public safety and security.
tl;dr:
Installing turnstiles and having more officers probably won't make up the funding deficit, as you suggest, because it costs more money to do this than the fare payments they would be enforcing.