Special Ed Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Personally my opinion is the fine should match the violation. Really anyone could just rid with a pre-paid ticket and 'forget' to validate it. Then up to the transit officer to decide if you're sincere or not. I don't take the transit system much but I did have a problem few years ago when I did. My grandmother was in town I was in a rush after work to see her(no vehicle) so I purchased a two-zone ticket. My destination was actually a little further (three-zone) and my ticket was checked of course just over the zone border. I had no idea when the officer pulled my out of the train and began to lecture me. Then issued an 89$ fine. I disputed it because I had paid for a ticket and felt I should be treated different than someone who had not ticket at all. Plus I didn't like the way I was treated. Anyway I went into court and noticed everyone was claiming to be students then getting their fine reduced. I happened to be taking a small course so I pleaded the same and my fine was reduced to 40$. In short if I were you I would dispute the amount and hope that the judge would reduce it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnTavares Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Personally my opinion is the fine should match the violation. Really anyone could just rid with a pre-paid ticket and 'forget' to validate it. Then up to the transit officer to decide if you're sincere or not. I don't take the transit system much but I did have a problem few years ago when I did. My grandmother was in town I was in a rush after work to see her(no vehicle) so I purchased a two-zone ticket. My destination was actually a little further (three-zone) and my ticket was checked of course just over the zone border. I had no idea when the officer pulled my out of the train and began to lecture me. Then issued an 89$ fine. I disputed it because I had paid for a ticket and felt I should be treated different than someone who had not ticket at all. Plus I didn't like the way I was treated. Anyway I went into court and noticed everyone was claiming to be students then getting their fine reduced. I happened to be taking a small course so I pleaded the same and my fine was reduced to 40$. In short if I were you I would dispute the amount and hope that the judge would reduce it. But like others have said, someone not validating a ticket forever is possible because the design of the system is horrid. You can use that same argument to anyone who genuinely forgets to validate the ticket. Why should the fine be so extravagant because of a system defeciency. Thats punishing harder on fines because the system is inefficient. The fine does not match the violation at all, theres no escalation process, someone who is blatantly cheating the system and someone who made an honest mistake like zone crossing (which is still confusing to a lot of people) face the same fine. Did you end up getting the fine reduced? And how was the process with the judge like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Ed Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 But like others have said, someone not validating a ticket forever is possible because the design of the system is horrid. You can use that same argument to anyone who genuinely forgets to validate the ticket. Why should the fine be so extravagant because of a system defeciency. Thats punishing harder on fines because the system is inefficient. The fine does not match the violation at all, theres no escalation process, someone who is blatantly cheating the system and someone who made an honest mistake like zone crossing (which is still confusing to a lot of people) face the same fine. Did you end up getting the fine reduced? And how was the process with the judge like? Yes the fine was reduced to 40$. The judge seemed good and was reducing the fines against students. I think I only mentioned that I had purchased a two-zone and unknowingly travelled into a three-zone. That I was also a student at the time with little experience in taking the train. The judge claimed to be confident he would not see me again, reduced my fine and that was all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theminister Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Your best bet would have been to get a used ticket from someone else on the train, saying you couldn't locate it on your person at the time, and then show it in court or mail it in with the ticket. It would serve as a receipt and probably get your fine waived. Too late now but for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Why can't someone take personal responsibility for their actions? It is a concept that never grows old. A fine is there as a deterrent. It is a simple plan: pay the fare or validate your pass and you will never get hit with a fine. The fact that someone got caught and now has to pay a fine should serve as a lesson to never do it again. Because accountability doesn't exist anymore and it's always someone else's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Your best bet would have been to get a used ticket from someone else on the train, saying you couldn't locate it on your person at the time, and then show it in court or mail it in with the ticket. It would serve as a receipt and probably get your fine waived. Too late now but for the future. There are signs everywhere saying do this and you'l be fined. At least at the Seabus it's everywhere. There used to be 3-4 people begging for used faresavers, or transfers etc. Now they are gone. My Dad worked for Transit for years. He always said there are two problems in the lower mainland with Transit. 1) Topography. Between rivers, ocean, mountains, hills, it's very hard to have an integrated system. It's not like Calgary or areas that are flat that you can build a grid that works together. 2) The executives at Translink don't use the system they are supposed to be running. Remove the majority of parking at their head office, and force them to ride it. They would change their plans and upgrade the system in no time. I'm just sad he said he was going to write a book about Transit in Vancouver and he never did. He said there was a lot of dirt he could have brought up about it. I guess he was just happy to retire and get out of there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizarre Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 The guy also told me I had to validate it after getting the fine, which is a bit absurd seeing as it means I'm paying and getting fined. I just got a ticket for speeding, I should be able to speed the rest of my journey right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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