TTC tests fare box designed to spot fakes

The Toronto Transit Commission has begun testing a new fare box designed to catch counterfeit tokens and passes.

The device was introduced on the Greenwood 31 bus route as part of a pilot project earlier this week.

The new system requires riders on the Greenwood bus to swipe their metropasses through a card reader. If the pass is fake, a prompt appears on the screen alerting drivers to this fact.

Tokens dropped through a slot located atop the device are also scanned for their authenticity, and the driver is notified in the event of a fake.

The device will also be tested on the Pape 72 bus next month.

The TTC hopes to install the devices on all city buses, streetcars and subway stops by the end of 2011.

The commission has already taken some steps to limit the counterfeiting of tokens.

In 2006, the TTC introduced new two-toned tokens that were harder to duplicate than the old monochrome versions. That measure helped reduce fraud, but TTC spokesman Danny Nicholson said counterfeiting still costs the TTC about $1 million annually.

"Counterfeiters always sort of seem to come back," Nicholson said. "So obviously the problem isn't as bad as it once was, but there are still counterfeit tokens and some counterfeit metro passes and weekly passes."

New device a stop-gap measure

If the pilot project is successful and adopted system-wide, it will cost about $5.3 million to install the new fare devices.

Nicholson admitted the fare readers are only a stop-gap measure until the TTC introduces a smart fare card but thinks the anti-counterfeiting measure will eventually pay for itself.

It is unclear when a smart card system will be implemented. The TTC has begun a smart card pilot project dubbed "Presto."

The commission hopes to have the Presto system in place at 12 subway stations by the end of 2011, but have not indicated when it will be adopted system-wide.

Latisha Martin, who takes the Greenwood bus to work, said she realizes counterfeiting is a problem, but thinks the solution is too expensive.

"It's not even worth it, if they are only losing a million dollars — and they're going to spend five million."