TTC assures only new‘bi-metal’tokens will be sold
Riders definitely need the new “bi-metal” TTC tokens that will go on sale this Sunday.
Back on Oct. 16, Sunny Tse of Markham wrote In Transit, “I was actually sold a fake TTC token at York Mills subway station. Obviously, the TTC employee did not know, because it was from circulation. That said, how can I or anyone protect themselves? What would happen if I did not know and had reused that token and got caught? Would I get charged for using counterfeit?
“The fake one I received was obvious. It was smooth and didn’t have any stamping on either side. The size was definitely smaller and the weight did not feel the same. Thank goodness, I discovered it immediately and raised the issue to the TTC employee.”
Despite Mr. Tse’s concern, it appears the transit agency never responded to the online form he submitted via the TTC’s website. Spokesperson Marilyn Bolton did reply to an e-mail from In Transit, stating that the rider received “what we would call a ‘slug’ (smooth on both sides).”
By immediately showing it to the collector, she writes that Mr. Tse “certainly took the correct action for both his own and the TTC’s benefit. Please thank him.”
She continued, “Your reader will not have to worry about purchasing a counterfeit token beginning on Sunday as only the new tokens will be available then.
“If he uses an old counterfeit token by mistake before the end of January, and TTC Special Constables become aware of his use … the Constables will deal with it on a case-by-case basis.”
The TTC clearly has a problem with bogus tokens. It seems that a legitimate coin and casino chip manufacturer in Massachusetts unwittingly produced five million counterfeit TTC tokens, which were later taken across the border in one of the largest such scams in Canadian history.
The alleged smugglers were caught after a two-year FBI investigation that was revealed earlier this year.
Ms. Bolton declined to name the firm, saying that the transit agency is currently engaged in a lawsuit over the fakes.
In an interview, she pointed out that some counterfeit tokens are so similar to the real thing that “I doubt that most people could tell them apart.”
How many bogus tokens are circulating in the TTC’s inventory now?
She replied, “I don’t know that we know, necessarily … but we know there are some.”
| expiry date for old tokens |
| An Ohio casino chip maker produced 20 million of the TTC’s new two-tone fares, which will be the only type of token accepted after Jan. 31, 2007. Riders are urged to use the old aluminum tokens before that date. For details, see www.toronto.ca/ttc. |
