Adult TTC tickets will be taken out of rotation this fall as counterfeiting techniques become increasingly sophisticated, the Toronto Transit Commission said Thursday.
The transit authority passed a proposal to get rid of the tickets by Sept. 28. Adult transit users are now forced to pay with tokens or cash instead.
Students and seniors will still be able to pay with tickets. TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said officials have noticed most of the fraud occurs with the adult tickets.
The TTC said they are considering the move at the same time that they announced one of their employees was being charged with fraud.
The toll collector was arrested Tuesday night after an investigation revealed counterfeit tickets were being sold out of the Wilson and Ossington station.
The suspect was also charged with theft, breach of trust and possession of instruments of forgery.
However, Ross told the Toronto Star that the proposal has nothing to do with the arrests.
He said the plan to get rid of adult tickets had been in the works for months. He said the TTC first noticed it had a problem with fraud when it increased fares in November. At the time, new adult tickets were introduced.
Counterfeiting costs the TTC up to $400,000 a month, according to a news release put out by the commission. Ross said the TTC could lose up to $5 million in revenue in 2008 if it doesn't act soon.
Transit users who recently purchased adult tickets are being asked to check their serial numbers to see if they belong to the series A7731069-A7731072 and A7660481-A7660484.
Anyone in possession of these tickets is being asked to call police at 32 division, 416-808-3207.
