Mayor John Tory is putting the brakes on a comment he made last night about TTC fare evaders.
He had suggested photos of those welcoming themselves to a free ride be printed in newspapers.
The TTC says skipping out on a fare isn't criminal so surveillance from vehicles can't be used.
Tory now says he wasn't serious. "I was more musing about that; I was musing about a way in which, sometimes, you could cause people to understand this is wrong behaviour; I was musing about the things that I had mentioned in the past; I was musing last night. I had mentioned it in a meeting once before."
Tory says it's a low percentage of riders who choose not to pay their fare but the result is still millions of dollars lost. People who cheat the system contribute to roughly $20 million a year that never makes it into the TTC's revenue stream.
"I think the more likely course of action that's going to be taken is to have better deployment of fare inspectors, of which we have some now, perhaps we need more," adds Tory.
The TTC is facing a budget deficit of at laeat $61 million dollars.
Fares are going up next year by 10 cents.