Public Transit. Disputing a ticket with no evidence.
 

A few weeks ago before I did a photoshoot, a few cops came on board the Canada line at landsdown station. Pulled me out of the train because I was in the wrong zone. (1 zone ticket in a 2 zone area) problem was that I can buy 1 zone tickets from the cananda line machines if I'm heading towards vancouver. Because the cops take your ticket, I have no physical evidence that I actually bought the ticket. The fine is $174 and I find that pretty hefty considering the other person that got pulled out of the train didn't have a ticket at all recieved the same fine. What are my chances of being able to dispute this ticket? It's been 20 days already and I left it pretty late. I have about 10 days left to dispute it. If I don't dispute it or pay in 10 days will the fine be increased?

Thanks in advance. From my standpoint I believe I didnt do anything wrong but please correct me if I'm wrong. I thought the cop was being unreasonable. Didnt listen to what i had to say, he just took me as some annoying teenager. Never disputed a ticket in my life, what should I be saying in court if I do?
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no.. the fine will decrease if paid within 30 days
if you think the cop was being unreasonable then just dispute it and explain your case.
what you got to lose right?

Thanks for the tips xilley! But will I be able to get a court date in under 10 days?
Posted via RS Mobile

If you file a dispute, you'll eventually be given a court date. That date will most likely be over one year from now - in the mean time you wont be innocent or guilty, just awaiting the court disposition.

If you have the wrong fare (1zone in a 2zone area), it is a ticketable offense. The ticket is not having valid fare for WHEN you were caught. It doesn't matter that you have a 1 zone fare because you were in a 2 zoned area.

Although the idea of zones is really arbitrary, it is the current structure and so the laws apply to it. I don't see you winning the dispute. All the times I've been to court, I have yet to see anyone win a case where it was fare evasion.

The hefty fine is to discourage you from doing this again. If it was just $30 I'd try to get away with not paying as many times as possible since I'd probably save more than $30, yet its unlikely I'll get away with it enough to save $174.

Like parking tickets. They are only $35 and its $1/hr to park most places - so I don't pay. If I park for 35hrs without getting ticketed, the ticket has paid for itself.

Thanks for the replies guys.

But what's the fucking point of paying one extra dollar for a zone 1 ticket in Richmond? It's so I don't have to upgrade my fare in Vancouver. Same with on busses in Vancouver, you can buy zone 2 fares for $1 more.
So even though If I had a upgraded pass, I'm still at fault? Jesus why do they even sell zone 1 fares in richmond /)__-
I guess I'll pay for the ticket tomorrow. How much will the fine be lowered if I pay within 30 days?

Edit never mind 25$ less :/ better than nothing I guess
Posted via RS Mobile

Richmond doesn't sell 1 fares. It's your fault for not telling the cashier you wanted the 2 zone pack / your fault for not entering the 2 zone pass on the ticket machine.

Dispute it and ask for a reduction in the fine. You will almost always (considering your a teenager with supposed limited income and going to school blah blah blah) get a very large reduction in the amount of the fine.

Berz out.

Theres a difference between what zone you are in and which zone option you are paying for. Ie: if vancouver is called zone1(not sure if it is, but for the sake of the example) when you buy a 1 zone ticket in richmond it doesnt mean its only for vancouver. Basically your ticket will have a number on the back stating which zone you bought the ticket in, and then another number stating how many zones you paid for. So that 1 zone ticket will be for richmond and if you travel outside of richmond, and if they check your ticket(automatically checked on buses) then they can see that you are in another zone(not richmond) and you only have a 1 zone ticket which was purchased in richmond. Hopefully that makes sense.

they do at canada line stations.
anyways, i have decided to file a dispute. i dont expect to walk out without having to pay anything but something is better than nothing and its worth a try imo.
the $25 off isnt much.

The ticket you purchased was for a 1 zone usage - basically meaning you can use it WITHIN Richmond for transit - which is part of Zone 2. You're confusing the two.

If you were heading to Vancouver, you need to buy a 2 Zone ticket, which is valid for Richmond and an adjacent zone.

You can always do a fare upgrade at any station with your 1 Zone ticket you purchased in Richmond - it will spit you a new ticket and turn it into a 2 Zone ticket.

Like what Berz said, if you dispute it they will usually give you a plea bargain at your court date, you admit that you are guilty and they will decrease the fine.

buddy disputed 5 skytrain tickets he got over a course of 7 years. He simply mailed in a complaint about all 5 of them(all of them made up) and they dropped all of the charges to less then 30$. I think he got away with it because they were so old and the skytrain officers don't have the time to go to court for a dispute(or however it works). Speaking of which, I got 2 about 2 years ago. One was because I had a student ticket, which was stupid because I was a student at the time and I was 18. The other was simply because i had no ticket, but the officer didn't sign it. I haven't gotten any notices and it hasn't shown up on a criminal record check. Although I'm very careful of getting another one, I have a feeling I will never hear of these tickets every again... Same goes for all the private parking tickets I've gotten over the years(3), all of which were at private lots though. The only thing they can do there is tow it if I ever park without paying.

I'm a little bit confused to what exactly happened. Did you get on the Canada Line in Richmond paying a 1-zone fare or in Vancouver paying a 1-zone fare?

If you got on in Richmond and you paid for 1-zone, there's nothing wrong with it and you should definitely dispute your ticket. You did nothing wrong and paid for full fare. However, if you got on in Vancouver, you deserved the ticket and can probably ask for a fine reduction if you wish.

just dispute it. cops don't usually show up for transit ticket disputes.

thank you. this was what i was looking for.. i was like :fulloffuck::seriously: when everyone was telling me that i was wrong

That's because your original post was confusing.

Bottom line is if you bought a 1-zone ticket while you were in Richmond and you stayed in Richmond, you will be fine. A 1 zone ticket means you can only use it within the zone the ticket was purchased. (ie. if you purchased a 1 zone ticket in what they call Zone 2 which are the red parts in http://www.translink.ca/~/media/imag..._zone_map.ashx, so long as you don't cross into yellow or green zones you will be fine).

If you bought a 1 zone ticket in Richmond but you travelled to Vancouver (into yellow zone) and got caught then that will be a different story and the ticket should stand.

the translink zone cut off is super unreasonable.


If i travel one station, i have to pay $2 dollar or watever it is as oppose to someone who travels 5-7 station (still within one zone)??? wtf

royal oak to metro will cost me $2 dollar? so if i go metro to shop for 3 hrs, i have to pay 4 dollar for something tats walking distance? screw that.

From DT to lougheed it is 2 zone, than lougheed towards coq another zone. Which is usually 5 minutes away from my house, thats gonna cost me another zone? i might as well as drive. Oh wait there isnt anywhere for me to park so im hooped taking the lame bus. Absolutely ridiculous

In asia they measure the distance you are traveling than charge you accordinly.

:heckno:

Because this is a TOTALLY novel idea that NO ONE has ever brought up on RS before.

insomniatic: I agree with you, everyone was posting above and I had the same reaction as you when littledog posted.

You are right, go dispute. You can use a 1 ZONE ticket on Canada Line from Brighouse station all the way to River Rock.
River Rock across the bridge then you must buy 2 zone ticket.

Good luck to you.

Not necessary charged by distance. For example in HK, they charge a substantial amount more for crossing the harbour, even if it is one station away. While traveling lets say 9 stations away in longer distance might be cheaper.

Also, comparing Asia transit to Vancouver transit is retarded as it's apples and oranges.

apples or oranges


it doesnt matter

translink is still fucked the way they charge, and thats the buttom line

not sure if serious

:suspicious::suspicious:

So.... I'm not sure what you're proposing...? Are you saying that people that take it fewer stops should be charged less? Translink is losing money as it is, so it would mean that someone is going to end up paying more for their journey. Do you think this would increase ridership/revenue?