NEW YORK — Fare evasion on public transportation in New York City remains “an epidemic,” according to the MTA, prompting the agency to form a panel to seek solutions and dissuasive measures for the problem, a panel that they also hope will curb the general violence in the subway system.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber has formed a panel aimed at finding solutions in education, equity and enforcement when it comes to fare evasion.
The panel is tasked with coming up with possible solutions and presenting its recommendations by the summer, Leiber said.
Schools Chancellor David Banks is among the panelists who will help guide policy when it comes to city students not paying their fees.
According to Lieber, 12% of subway riders and one in three bus riders do not pay their fares. This number could translate to a total of $500 million in lost revenue this year alone.
However, Leiber said he doesn’t want those who don’t pay to go to jail, adding that an improvement in stations can also work as a stronger deterrent.
The hope is that the panel’s recommendations will also translate to curbing the violence that has plagued the city’s subway system in recent months.
As Lieber put it, “when passengers see people breaking the rules,” they wonder “what else could that person do to me?”, and New York City commuters have seen more than a few terrifying realities on the streets alone. last weeks.
So far this year, through April 17, there have been 664 traffic offenses on the MTA, an increase of 67% compared to the same period last year.
Commuters have been on high alert due to rising traffic crime, including the shooting on the Brooklyn subway on April 12 during which authorities said 10 subway passengers were shot after a man dressed in a construction vest will throw two smoke canisters into a subway car to distract the rush hour crowd before opening fire.
“There have been more shootings. He may start taking the bus or even walking,” Queens resident Eddie Rios told our sister network News 4 New York. “It’s a 45-minute walk, but I’ll do it if it gets to that point. It’s a security issue.”
Aside from the recent increase in crime within the subway system, fare evasion has been a problem the MTA has been dealing with for years.
The MTA faced a series of protests in 2020 at dozens of its stations across the city’s five boroughs over heavy police presence and the city’s crackdown on fare evasion. The MTA said the damage caused by these protests over a week cost taxpayers $100,000.
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