Why the dollar bill posed problems for Winnipeg Transit
Cheaters found a way to exploit limitations of bus fare boxes in 1985
Winnipeg Transit had a problem.
A trip on the city bus cost 80 cents, but in May 1985 an increasing number of thrifty riders had found a way to get a fare deal and pay just 50 cents a ride.
"It's a simple scam," said CBC Winnipeg reporter Ted Weatherhead. "A swindler simply tears a dollar bill in half, folds it up, and deposits it in the fare box."
The transit authority was finding about 80 such hacked bills among its daily take — a number that was "double the total" that had been seen before a recent fare hike.
'Suspect' bills
Winnipeg Transit director Rick Borland was determined to put an end to the fare evasion, and bus drivers were alert to cheaters.
"One of our bus operators spotted a suspect bill," said Borland in an interview. "The police were asked for their assistance, and the fare box was emptied and the bill ... determined to be half."
He added that charges would be laid if the bogus bill could be connected to an individual.
Weatherhead said Borland was planning to replace the 50-year-old fare boxes with a type that accepted only intact bills.
Fare fix
A year and a half later, Weatherhead had an update on the city's experiments with two new fare box designs.
"One is a sophisticated American-made model that takes in a dollar bill easily," he said, as the box was seen in use.
It also accepted coins and supplied a digital readout of the fare paid.
But it wasn't perfect: if a bill was inserted where coins should go, it became "jammed," said the reporter.
"And lint from mitts or gloves will cause the box to jam," said Weatherhead, pointing out a problem that may have been especially acute in Winnipeg.
A second model, made in Australia, was also being tested. But transit officials didn't think it was "sturdy enough."
In a jam
A tendency for the old boxes to jam up with bills was the reason the new boxes were being tested, said Weatherhead. He made no mention of the half-dollar scam.
The fare by then was 85 cents, so more people were paying with dollar bills.
But for Winnipeg Transit's Bill Lake, there was light at the end of the tunnel, given recent news that a dollar coin was coming.
"We would like to see the dollar bill completely discontinued," he said.
Winnipeg Transit, meanwhile, had spent $156,000 on 30 fare boxes to address a problem that may have been likely to solve itself in the not-too-distant future.
