Fare evasion surges in New York City transit system

[New Sancai Compilation First Edition] According to the latest statistics from the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), in the first three months of 2024, approximately one in two New York City bus passengers failed to pay their fare when boarding the bus. .

This represents almost 48% of bus passengers. On the subway, about 14% of passengers did not pay. Fare evasion is rampant, prompting the MTA to deploy a cadre of "fare inspectors" on buses and bus stops to curb the problem.

Fare evasion has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 21% of bus passengers evading fares in 2020. Now, it's more than double that number.

The standard fare for subway passengers and most bus passengers is $2.90 per ride.

According to the 2023 report commissioned by the MTA, in 2022 alone, bus fare evasion caused the MTA an estimated US$312 million in revenue losses.

The MTA says bus fare evasion has been a serious problem for years, although things are worse now. In 2018, about 18% of bus passengers failed to pay their fares, compared with 11% in other major cities such as Paris, France, and 5% in Toronto, Canada.

Transport union leaders are discouraging drivers from confronting fare evaders for fear they will be attacked. One bus driver told the New York Post, “Out of a bus full of people, let’s say 10 people get on the bus, maybe two of them paid.” He added, “I just turn a blind eye — We are taught not to resist fare evasion and we have had people attacked and stabbed for resisting fare evasion."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)