Councillors ask for report on unpaid Saskatoon Transit fare police

Councillors have asked Saskatoon Transit to provide more information on a policy that tells bus drivers to not intervene when people don't have enough money to ride.

At the city's transportation committee meeting on Monday, councillors voted unanimously to ask for a report outlining how much the policy costs the transit system and whether there are routes that are at greater risk of non-payment.

The report was spurred after councillors heard from long-time transit rider Mary Fedun. She said it's not fair that some people are getting a free ride on transit.

"We have an incredible number of people who are using the buses as their private taxis," said Fedun.

"At some point, I presume, we're going to have to start paying for transit again."

City transportation manager Terry Schmidt said that the rules are in place primarily to protect drivers. He said that disputes over fares are one of the most common flash points that can lead to assaults on drivers.

"We don't want an operator threatened or injured over a fare dispute," said Schmidt.

"They do allow the the riders to ride the bus, whether they have a fare or not. That is how they're trained."

Schmidt said that all drivers are asked to record every time someone refuses to pay on a mobile datapad, in an attempt to keep track of where and when non-payment happens.

He said that the policy would likely continue after transparent plastic safety barriers are installed to protect transit drivers.

"There still are instances that can occur that can be quite traumatic and troubling for the operators — banging on the door, banging on the glass, verbal abuse gestures and even putting other riders at risk," said Schmidt.

"I think we still have to consider those things when we're looking at our policy and continue with not escalating these into situations that could be dangerous to operators and or riders." 

Auditor report

Councillors also received an update on an investigation by the city's internal auditor into bus disruptions this winter.

Numerous routes were cancelled this winter leaving many commuters stranded.

In March, council asked the city auditor to write an independent report on the cancellations to determine exactly what happened.

At the committee meeting, internal auditor Sohail Saleem said he had already begun defining the scope of the investigation and had spoken to groups like the Amalgamated Transit Union and Bus Riders of Saskatoon in an attempt to get to the bottom of the issue.

Saleem emphasized that he reports directly to city council and does not report to administration.

During the shutdowns, Saskatoon Transit said the broken-down buses were due to a number of factors, including cold weather, an aging bus fleet and difficulty in sourcing spare parts.

The investigation will focus on those factors, as well as workplace culture at Saskatoon Transit and the use of private sector companies for repairs and parts.

The report will be made public at the transportation committee in October. Preliminary findings will be given to Saskatoon Transit so that changes can be made in time for the winter.