Be prepared for fare control

[jlarocque2005]

Found this on stm.info

(English)

Be prepared for fare control: A + for all

Starting September 1, you must keep your valid transit fare with you throughout your trip, whether it is on a magnetic card or on an OPUS card. A valid transit fare serves as your proof of payment.

From then on, once you pass the turnstiles, and are within station corridors, along métro platforms, inside métro cars or aboard buses, STM inspectors will be checking that you have a valid transit fare by using a portable electronic card scanner. Without proof of fare payment, clients are subject to fines of up to $500, excluding fees

(French)

Voyager en règle: UN + POUR TOUS

À partir du 1er septembre, vous devez garder tout au long de votre déplacement votre titre de transport valide, que celui-ci soit sur carte magnétique ou sur carte OPUS. Un titre validé constitue votre preuve de paiement.

Dorénavant, à l’intérieur des tourniquets, dans les corridors sur les quais des stations de métro, à bord des voitures de métro et à bord des bus, les inspecteurs de la STM s’assureront au moyen d’un vérificateur électronique portable, que vous possédez un titre en règle. À défaut de cette preuve, des amendes pouvant aller jusqu’à 500 $ (excluant les frais) s’appliquent.

[kellergraham]

Found this on stm.info

(English)

Be prepared for fare control: A + for all

Starting September 1, you must keep your valid transit fare with you throughout your trip, whether it is on a magnetic card or on an OPUS card. A valid transit fare serves as your proof of payment.

From then on, once you pass the turnstiles, and are within station corridors, along métro platforms, inside métro cars or aboard buses, STM inspectors will be checking that you have a valid transit fare by using a portable electronic card scanner. Without proof of fare payment, clients are subject to fines of up to $500, excluding fees

Cool! And I'll be using my Magnetic TRAM 5 pass next month for massive bus and rail fanning (two weeks vacation).

Hope the inspectors know how a Magnetic TRAM 5 pass works with their OPUS readers

Alex

[Mystic]

Cool! And I'll be using my Magnetic TRAM 5 pass next month for massive bus and rail fanning (two weeks vacation).

Hope the inspectors know how a Magnetic TRAM 5 pass works with their OPUS readers

Alex

Agreed. I'll be getting my magnetic TRAM Zone 5 for next month and for the next few months after. I think they should have just kept them and left it at that. This way people with CAM Hebdo's could still use them, instead of having to buy a weekly fare and a smart card at the same time! What a cash grab!

[emdx]

I guess that this also means the end of paper Métro transfers, too…

[stm_5307N]

About time they crack down on all the freeloaders that board from the back or don't simply care about paying when they get on a bus! These fare inspectors should get on at stops close to schools when the kids load up! They'll make a killing on the tickets they give out.

[M.Wright]

$500 DOLLARS?

Wow, that makes OC Transpo's $150 fine look cheap.

I guess that this also means the end of paper Métro transfers, too…

Well they can't, what if you pay cash? How will you get valid proof of payment without the paper transfers?

[Mystic]

$500 DOLLARS?

Wow, that makes OC Transpo's $150 fine look cheap.

Well they can't, what if you pay cash? How will you get valid proof of payment without the paper transfers?

The turnstiles and fareboxes hand out transfers now, so he's saying there won't be a need for the transfer dispensers, which have been a part of Montreal for decades!

It says up to $500, so I assume that's meant for repeat offenders. And now again, who is this really going to inconvenience? The habitual fare evader, or the honest occasional passenger who misplaced their paper transfer?

Also I can't see how they're going to control fares during rush hour when people are packed in the metro like sardines. Unless they plan on checking you on the platform or when you get off?

[M.Wright]

The turnstiles and fareboxes hand out transfers now, so he's saying there won't be a need for the transfer dispensers, which have been a part of Montreal for decades!

It says up to $500, so I assume that's meant for repeat offenders. And now again, who is this really going to inconvenience? The habitual fare evader, or the honest occasional passenger who misplaced their paper transfer?

Also I can't see how they're going to control fares during rush hour when people are packed in the metro like sardines. Unless they plan on checking you on the platform or when you get off?

Well that is new, I didn't know about the turnstyles handing out transfers.

Guess that will mean that they will be eliminated, as they are now rendered pointless.

[80-040_Guy-Concordia]

Also I can't see how they're going to control fares during rush hour when people are packed in the metro like sardines. Unless they plan on checking you on the platform or when you get off?

They don't have to check everyone and every opportunity its not like the turnstiles are now unlocked, they have to carry out random check to see if people have verified their fare. That leads to a question, what if you're waved on to a bus because your OPUS card takes a while to read and you didn't use a ticket, is that a valid excuse to not have proof of payment?

[Mystic]

They don't have to check everyone and every opportunity its not like the turnstiles are now unlocked, they have to carry out random check to see if people have verified their fare. That leads to a question, what if you're waved on to a bus because your OPUS card takes a while to read and you didn't use a ticket, is that a valid excuse to not have proof of payment?

It would be a huge inconvenience and time consuming, but you could probably fight this one in court and win. If you're aboard the bus and the driver has no record of signalling a fare evader, then it should clear your name.

In any event, they're going to have to wait a long time if/when they inspect me, because I frequently misplace things like transfers and tickets and sometimes it takes a good few minutes to remember where I put them. And I'm certainly not going to start holding it in my hand the entire time, since it might fall out of my hand.

[novalfs26001]

If your card does not work, PAY 2.75 and keep the magnetic card as proof of payment. There will be no tolerance for broken cards. It would be too easy. A broken card would mean a wide-open unlimited pass.

[M. Parsons]

Unless they plan on checking you on the platform or when you get off?

Why not! Ever since Edmonton's security officers were given a new title and fancy Crown Victoria's, they seem to have lost the art of actually patrolling the LRT system, and instead sit at the top of escalators waiting for partons leaving to station to pounce on them looking for POP. While I don't have a problem with that... It's a nice way to catch people, I would prefer to see more visability on the actual trains. I would question if it is worth it to check fares. Are the barriers to the system more less the same as they were before the introduction of the new fare collection methods? My experience in Toronto has been that if people actually have to pay to get into the system they need to/ want to be there. I felt safer on Toronto's system than I do in Edmonton's where anyone can enter the platforms and trains without passing any sort of access control devices. My Montreal experience has been a lot less mind you. 1 1/2 days... vs. 4-5 weeks in Toronto.

If someone could get a photo of a transfer machine I would very much appreciate it!

[SMS]

Does the police have the right to ask you for ID to complement the OPUS carte privilege with the photo ID on it?

[emdx]

 

If your card does not work, PAY 2.75 and keep the magnetic card as proof of payment. There will be no tolerance for broken cards. It would be too easy. A broken card would mean a wide-open unlimited pass.

What you do is pay the cash fare, and with the ticket as a receipt, you go to a service center where they will check your card and replace it if it is b0rk3d, as well as refund your cashfare.

Does the police have the right to ask you for ID to complement the OPUS carte privilege with the photo ID on it?

The ID card is an integral part of the reduced fare; without it, you will be fined (it’s hard to dissociate it from the pass now that it is electronically stored on the card)…

[Chris_the_traveller]

What if the OPUS reader on a bus is broken?! I've been waved on no less than 10 times because the OPUS reader was broken. I wouldn't want to be fined because of a problem in their equipment!!

And what if you get on STM using an AMT Solo card, say zone 3 (so coming from, say Sainte-Anne), and your 2 hours expire while you're on STM? Can the inspectors tell that your card just a few minutes ago?

And what if the changeur is in the bathroom or not there, and he leaves the gate open? Will they just not leave the gates open when that happens anymore?

[JeremyA]

In theory, STM already does, and always has checked fares once you're inside the "control zone". This is just a scare tactic they use every year to encourage people (especially students) to get their stuff in order.

$500 DOLLARS?

Wow, that makes OC Transpo's $150 fine look cheap.

Well they can't, what if you pay cash? How will you get valid proof of payment without the paper transfers?

Well, AMT has a fine of "up to" $500 as well, but I've never seen somebody get a fine of more than around $220.

If you pay cash, you get a "scam" card for proof of payment.

Does the police have the right to ask you for ID to complement the OPUS carte privilege with the photo ID on it?

The ID card is an integral part of the reduced fare; without it, you will be fined (it’s hard to dissociate it from the pass now that it is electronically stored on the card)…

I think what SMS was asking is whether the police have the right to ask you for additional ID, on top of your STM-issued card. I should think yes, because the police have the right to ask for ID at any time, regardless of what it's for, and it's possible you just borrowed the card from someone else, and you yourself aren't entitled to the student discount.

[Mystic]

If someone could get a photo of a transfer machine I would very much appreciate it!

Here's a pic of the "old fashioned" transfer machine, which still works for now in most stations, while others have had them disconnected for a while now and only keep one or sometimes none operational.

http://www.transitfan.com/gallery/v/mystic...508-01.jpg.html

I have others, but this should be what you're looking for.

What if the OPUS reader on a bus is broken?! I've been waved on no less than 10 times because the OPUS reader was broken. I wouldn't want to be fined because of a problem in their equipment!!

And what if you get on STM using an AMT Solo card, say zone 3 (so coming from, say Sainte-Anne), and your 2 hours expire while you're on STM? Can the inspectors tell that your card just a few minutes ago?

And what if the changeur is in the bathroom or not there, and he leaves the gate open? Will they just not leave the gates open when that happens anymore?

You bring up good points. Because as it is currently the OPUS readers on the buses are broken quite frequently, and drivers allow people to board anyhow, since any delay in trying to figure it out would just make the bus even later, and as it is now with all the construction and detours, the buses are consistently running late, and these opus readers are only adding to the delays. I've been waved onboard several times because of my finicky opus card, and even with cash when I was entering a good sized amount of change, I was about halfway through and he said, "va s'y, va s'y" and told me to get on. I even rode the bus the other night, and I had run for the bus when it was waiting a the stop, and I got on and started looking for a ticket, not even 10 seconds, and he's like, "non, non c'est beau, c'est beau". I'm sure there wouldn't be an inspector onboard on a Sunday night anyhow, but most drivers that I've seen don't want to bother dealing with these opus issues, and don't have time for you to worry about validating or scanning your scam card.

The changeur not being in the booth should be an interesting story, but I assume that if you're stopped by an inspector you could verify it with them that the changeur was not available at the time you boarded, but then again, they could easily say that you should have used your opus card on the automated machine, even though the signs in the changeur's booth clearly state in some booths that you could use the opus reader, or pass at the last gate. I suppose we'll have to see what happens, because I have had several times that I needed changeur when the automated machines were broken or they wouldn't take my interac card, which now really doesn't matter, since they don't dispense 6 tickets any longer.

[kellergraham]

I saw this plastered on a transfer machine at Du College today:

[Mystic]

I saw this plastered on a transfer machine at Du College today:

Sigh... I saw that at Angrignon yesterday evening too. It was there in the afternoon and all the boxes had "defect" on them, and when I went in but when I came back something was plastered over the transfer box, which I now see is what you showed.

I suppose now is the time for transfer collectors to stock up where you still can.

[SMS]

Sigh nothing! We had months, no, years of advance warning that these things were about to go bye bye. I got all my transfers from every station. Whoever who doesn't by the 31st gets left in the dust!

[M. David]

Sigh nothing! We had months, no, years of advance warning that these things were about to go bye bye. I got all my transfers from every station. Whoever who doesn't by the 31st gets left in the dust!

Well, I got all of mine almost a year ago, so I'm all set !

--

***Post No. 2,000!!!***

[Mystic]

Sigh nothing! We had months, no, years of advance warning that these things were about to go bye bye. I got all my transfers from every station. Whoever who doesn't by the 31st gets left in the dust!

Sigh as in, we are now ending an era of a technology that has served us for decades, and unfortunately is replaced by an new inferior system which I have to deal with each and everytime.

Yesterday at Angrignon 2 turnstiles work functioning and there was a massive lineup at the changeur. Someone had exploited the bug that I found out when the magnetic tickets were first put into use, and managed to break each turnstile. Now the more people find out about this "exploit" or "bug" the more misery we will see. I won't explain exactly how to do it, but I will say, green light and "Correspondance Accepté" with permanently locked gates.

[M. Parsons]

Here's a pic of the "old fashioned" transfer machine, which still works for now in most stations, while others have had them disconnected for a while now and only keep one or sometimes none operational.

Thanks for that!

If anyone happens to be collecting transfers in the coming days and would be able to grab a few for me I would be very grateful. In exchange, I can offer some examples of current ETS fare media.

I have emailed my sister and encouraged her to go ride the Metro for a day collecting transfers, but, I get a feeling she'll think I'm nuts for even suggesting that idea!

[emdx]

What if the OPUS reader on a bus is broken?! I've been waved on no less than 10 times because the OPUS reader was broken. I wouldn't want to be fined because of a problem in their equipment!!

If the reader is broken, the inspectors will know about it, and if they don’t, the driver will corroborate that, either in person or in front of the judge.

And what if you get on STM using an AMT Solo card, say zone 3 (so coming from, say Sainte-Anne), and your 2 hours expire while you're on STM? Can the inspectors tell that your card just a few minutes ago?

I would suppose they do; if you are caught 2 hours later in Pointe-Aux-Trembles, I doubt that they will not thing it to be legit…

And what if the changeur is in the bathroom or not there, and he leaves the gate open? Will they just not leave the gates open when that happens anymore?

There is no need for a changeur to be there all the time; one can buy his ticket in the automatic machine, so there is no reason for a changeur to wave people by.

Sadly, though, this is the end of the free rides…

I think what SMS was asking is whether the police have the right to ask you for additional ID, on top of your STM-issued card. I should think yes, because the police have the right to ask for ID at any time, regardless of what it's for, and it's possible you just borrowed the card from someone else, and you yourself aren't entitled to the student discount.

Legally, there is no such thing as an “identification card”. The STM-issued card is sufficient. If they ask for more, you say that that’s all they need. You are not driving, so they don’t need to see a driver’s licence, and you are not sick, so they don’t need to see your health insurance card.

For this purpose, I’ve been carrying for the last 30 years a laminated small-size official birth certificate:

When the police sees that they are first befuddled and then not happy, the more so because they know very well that they cannot ask for anything else (I don’t have a driver’s license, and I am not sick), and since there is absolutely no legal requirement that people carry identification papers at all, they have to make do with it, because it’s official.

So, for the purpose of STM regulation enforcement, the reduced-fare card should do.

**HOWEVER** (caution! Big caveat!)

giving the pass as ID could probably be a bad idea, because inspectors most probably (too lazy to check) have the power to confiscate a pass that is used fraudulently.