Fare Evaders the New Gate Jumpers

Translink thinks the free rides on the skytrain will soon come to an end with the installing of fare gates. What they don’t understand is we will never pay. We will jump over their pathetic gates with joy and amusement. We will laugh at their absurd tickets and never renew our licenses. It puts smiles on our faces knowing they spent 170 Million on fare gates. 170 Million spent just to offset the lost revenue of 7-10 Million dollars. We love the hilarious uniforms you dress your Translink workers in and love recycling your violation tickets. We love not giving our name and wasting your time while allowing others who haven’t paid to pass by.  The 60,000 fare rebels who received tickets are only a snippet of people who hate paying the fares and will refuse to pay. They say the gates will make us safer. How? Is it because people who are poor and rejected by society pose a threat to public safety or is it the continuing gentrification to segregate poor from the rich? Public transit is supposed to be for all, as long as you have money. When the fare gates are fully operational, at least 2/3 of the Transit cops may move to buses. This will undoubtedly increase arrests, tickets and promote a police state. Transit cops with guns have never made me feel safe, but it may be nice knowing the person beside me is not a fare evader terrorist out to terrorize tax payers and the government’s pocketbooks. There are ads up proclaiming no line is the free line. We would disagree.

Sincerely, Vancouver Fare Evaders