LRT fare evasion at all-time low, Calgary Transit says

The number of Calgarians trying to get a free ride on the LRT is at an all-time low, according to a study released Thursday.

Calgary Transit's two-week study from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1 last year found that 98.3 per cent of passengers had purchased tickets or had passes.

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Out of 45,248 customers whowere checked, 786 were unable to produce a ticket or pass.

"Having a low of 1.7 per cent of customers evading fares is statistically significant because it tells us that Calgarians are honest," said Calgary Transit public safety and enforcement Supt. Brian Whitelaw in a release.

Fare payment for the C-Train operates on the honour system, though there is a heftyfare evasion penalty of$250.

Between 2009 and 2014, the fare evasion average was about 3.6 per cent.

The C-Train carries roughly 325,000 people every weekday, ranking it among the most heavily used light rail transit systemsin North America, Calgary Transit says.