30 arrested for using fake Metropasses

An enforcement blitz in Scarborough has resulted in 30 transit riders being caught with fake TTC Metropasses.

The riders with phoney passes face almost 100 charges, including fraud.

The problem of bogus tokens and passes continues to be a major problem for the TTC. The commission says it loses millions of dollars every year from these types of counterfeit schemes.

Toronto police Const. Laura Middleton said officers found the bogus passes by doing random checks.

"We had special constables and Toronto police officers riding the buses and set up at the Scarborough Town Centre. And we checked every pass that came on the bus or came through the Scarborough Town Centre," she said Thursday.

TTC special constable Mark Russell said the illegal passes were almost identical to the real ones.

"They would photocopy a colour copy of an authentic pass just on regular paper and they would use the glue sticks to adhere them to plastic card stocks," he said.

Half of the people arrested during last week's operation were younger than 20. Most are minors and cannot be identified.

The TTC says it seizes about 500 bogus passes everymonth.

The TTC eliminated paper tickets last fall, in part to cut down on counterfeit ones.

Metal tokens were replaced three years ago with new ones harder to duplicate but fake ones are turning up in cash boxes.

The TTC says it will take new measures to cut down on counterfeiting. Details are expected in the next few weeks.