Winnipeg’s mayor said Friday that fare enforcement has been stepped up, primarily to increase safety.

“While recovering lost revenue matters, the top priority is building a culture of safety and respect on city buses,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a news release.

The bus drivers’ union and passengers have said fare evasion is often tied to assaults on drivers and harassment of passengers, the mayor said in the release.

“That’s a serious concern, and we’re stepping up enforcement to deal with it,” Gillingham said.

The city, at the mayor’s request, has directed safety teams to increase fare checks. The newly expanded team of community safety officers have been checking fares as part of their daily patrols since late August. Fare enforcement was mostly done by transit inspectors, with o

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