The Los Angeles Metro Rail transit authority operates on an honour system, i.e. there are no turnstiles or gates, patrons are expected to buy a ticket but checking is done only on a random basis. According to Wired, the transit commission has concluded that fare-cheaters are costing the system about $5.5 million a year. The proposed solution; spend $56.4 million to install gates. At best, a 10-year pay-back on the investment. In reality, probably a lot longer when the project goes over-budget and only reduces but does not eliminate stolen rides.
The Toronto Transit Commission, if it were faced with a similar problem would compound it by insisting the new gates be domestically manufactured in unionized factories - even if that meant waiting 15 years for someone to start a business and open a factory to produce the gates - and then hiring 10 unionized workers (plus supervisors) to monitor each gate.
The Toronto Transit Commission, if it were faced with a similar problem would compound it by insisting the new gates be domestically manufactured in unionized factories - even if that meant waiting 15 years for someone to start a business and open a factory to produce the gates - and then hiring 10 unionized workers (plus supervisors) to monitor each gate.
