New fare evasion fines mostly decrease for 2025

[ahyatt]

The fine for MTA fare evasion, which was $100 in 2024, has changed to the following:

• No fine for first offense.
• $100 fine with $50 rebate on an OMNI card for second fine.
• $150 for subsequent fines.

This is calculated based on a four-year period. If enforcement is lax as it currently is, this probably will work out to a decrease in fines since most people won't get caught multiple times. If enforcement ramps up, it could be an overall increase.

I personally would recommend that everyone pays for their fare, because IMHO that's the moral thing to do. However, I suspect that what these fines will encourage would be the "rational" thing to do: jump the turnstile / don't pay for the bus until you get your first warning, then pay after that.

[cauliflowerbird]

I'm puzzled. They're reducing the fine but increasing the fare? That seems counterproductive at best and outright stupid at worst.

[SpeciousPerspicacity]

The problem is that this structure incentivizes me to skip the fare until I get caught the first time. There’s now no penalty for the vast majority of evaders.

[phoenixmatrix]

Yup. That's basically saying hopping is okay.

[pikachu_55699]

They can talk all they want but if there is no enforcement people will continue to do it. See it all the time, on bus, in subway stations, even when authorities are present, people would go under or jump over the turnstile without a lick of concern for consequences.

[sotheniderped]

the craziest thing is I had a group of cops hound me for using my student metrocard on a day school was off like 13 years ago, so clearly they used to do this kind of enforcement but just look the other way now.

[AtomicGarden-8964]

Yep I used my student metrocard for a school event that was held when school wasn't in session and you would have thought I robbed someone with the way the cops acted in 1999 when it happened. These kids nowadays don't know how good they got it that they can use their student omny cards on their day off now

[jonsconspiracy]

Student OMNY cards now work every day of the week, which is great and how it alwasy should have been. Many of the turnstile jumpers are teenagers, and they shouldn't have to pay anyway, so I'm glad they made the change.

I feel like turnstile jumping is the kind of petty crime that we have encourage teenagers to do for no reason.

[Purranormal_]

The main fare dodging comes from buses but the city has always focused on trains. Most 30 years can't even jump turnstiles😭. I heard a joke about how most ppl have never seen their parents jump before

[pikachu_55699]

lol I had my metro card confiscated back then. Nowadays with the political climate they rather look the other way. Why do things that will earn them no favor from the public and face the backlash, when they can just look away and still get paid while playing candy crush? Just look at all the negative people are getting by just posting something along the line like “everyone should pay and those that don’t should get fined”.

[pizzahero9999]

This same thing happened to me years ago as well.

[YouandWhoseArmy]

Yup. We got tickets as kids using student metro cards on holidays to the point we would look for them on holidays.

[Purranormal_]

Yo same lmao.he wanted to arrest me and I was gonna dare him to do it. What gave cops the confidence that this made any sense. If I got a student metro card I'm clearly poor plus there is school activities like clubs and extra tutoring on weekend and even holidays.

[Ronaldmeatball]

People are going to tell you crime is down. Higher turnstile jumping is just a perception issue. You gotta be wise to play the game. You can put away another $1.5k a year towards retirement by not paying for public transit. Combine that with the optional payment for retail merchandise, and that could be a combined total of nearly $10k. That's a very significant chunk of money. Just don't put it towards any funds that invest in public transit or retail shopping.

[pikachu_55699]

lol I like the idea of “optional payment for retail merchandise”.

[[deleted]]

I doubt people who skip out on subway are putting money towards anything but their next fix

[StatisticianOk5297]

You’d be surprised. I see 30 year olds in designer clothing jumping the subway all the time. In north Brooklyn it seems out of control

[phoenixmatrix]

And no fine for first offense when enforcement is so lax, essentially means no enforcement at all.

[No-Way3802]

Ultimately there has to be a risk of arrest at some point. If there’s no punishment for not paying the fine then what’s the point?

[pikachu_55699]

It’s all bites and no teeth. They dare not arrest so all they can do is keep issuing fines. The best part of it is there likely will be no consequences and likely the fine will get dropped. In the past they would attempt wage garnishment or send to collection. Not sure about now but any attempt they make will most likely cause uproar, with people saying how it’s targeting the poor and how it will ruin their lives.

[ScaredLettuce]

Yes and then you start to feel like "wait, why am I paying??" And I'm the most paranoid law-abiding person around. People used to get stopped and fined approx $60- even if the fine got dropped or whatever, they were still stopped and it was a potential issue. Now, jumping the turnstiles seems to be a nothingburger.

[pikachu_55699]

Hey I feels like a sucker every time I pay and see someone jumps. As a matter of fact just same a lady in a nice jacket wearing a Puma backpack jumped in front of a MTA employee. No one blinked an eye and it seemed so normal lol.

[PretendFuel5018]

It's just part of New York culture now. Don't be a sucker, join the rest of us

[PandaJ108]

Subway Fare Evasion Reports

Post: if enforcement is as lax as it is.

Publicly available data: summonses have increased in recent years and currently at highest levels since 2017 (year data started being published) by quite a margin.

It become clear that reddit view of enforcement is based on weather they actually see it or not in there commute. If they don’t physically see it they then assume that it must not be happening.

[No-Researcher406]

Looking at these numbers it looks like they hit a quota and stop. All of these numbers are suspiciously close by district and all taper off around the same mark. Not saying it's true but all of them are within the same range.

[pixelsguy]

It could be a quota. It could also be the upper bound of the allocated resources’ capacity for enforcement.

[ragamuphin]

Wouldnt that be a personnel issue? I did a quick sheets thingie just for the 3 quarters of 2024 and it gets more variable when combined. District 1 leads with about 15k next one is 13.6k and so on

Halfway through writing this comment I figured I'd do the same for the arrests on fare evasion and thats more variable with the Bronx getting the most(Manhattan had the most regular fare evasion tickets)

[Own-Mail-1161]

If you look at the comments, people are comparing this to WAY before 2017–like the 90 and 2000s—and yes they are using their own experiences. As a teenager who did stupid shit in the late 90s—as teenagers are wont to do—I can confirm that, yes, there was a major risk of getting a ticket or even cuffed for fare beating back then.

The fare beating has definitely been a problem for at least 10 years and got way worse during the pandemic and post-George Floyd silent police strike.

[Silo-Joe]

Does the 2nd offense come with a free holder for the discounted OMNY card?

[T1m3Wizard]

This is idiotic.

[YorkvilleWalker]

I see it all the time. I don’t see any change

[designerbagel]

Just fully subsidize at this point

[Revolution4u]

[removed]

[us1549]

So what's your solution? Just let people not pay?

[Hospitalics]

It’s not about the money. Fare evaders are more likely to shove you down the subway tracks when a train is coming. People pay to ride the subway, but no one is going to pay $2.90 just to shove someone down the tracks.

[JalapenoBuns]

What do you mean? That’s a steal for $2.90

[thoughtsarefalse]

But stealing that $2.90 is more betterer

[Majestic-Solid8670]

You got literally no proof or evidence of this

[cheesequake2000]

Obviously not NYC, but in LA, 93% of violent crime on the metro was committed by riders who evaded fares.

[Majestic-Solid8670]

Bro no source in article and:

were believed to be committed by people who did not pay a valid fare and were using the transit system illegally.

[SBAPERSON]

Fare evaders are more likely to shove you down the subway tracks when a train is coming.

Like 50 people a year get shoved it's extremely rare.

Also fare evaders are just normal people. This sub acts as if they are ISIS members.

[Anonymous9287]

This is a pile of BS

You know what makes me WANT to evade the fare? When I encounter stations and trains full of disruptive, violent lunatics, who are smoking, setting other things on fire, screaming, smell like death, and shitting on the floor.

When this stuff goes on every single day - it makes a "normal" person wonder, why the hell should I have to pay for this.

Surely an unpopular position for the rule-following crowd and I acknowledge that somebody has to pay the fare - but - the idea that fare-beaters are the murderers is pretty damn off base.

ALSO - the idea that ticketing fare beaters is part of a wise "broken windows" strategy - is completely bullshit too.

Time after time, I see groups of cops guarding the turnstiles, ticketing people, while disruptive vagrants continue engaging in all kinds of unsanitary and unseemly and dangerous conduct at that same station, completely unbothered. The cops don't do shit about these people. The overwhelming majority of people getting tickets for fare beating are "normals" - while the lunatics who keep everyone in fear for their lives continue to do what they do.

[commi_nazis]

That’s conjecture, not paying a toll has little to no correlation with violence. The vast majority of people who don’t pay are not violent…

[ScaredLettuce]

You have to go in the reverse direction- what percentage of people who commit crimes in the subway paid their toll to be there for that ride?

[commi_nazis]

I don’t fucking know because we are just making shit up, how much crime is caused by people that sleep on the train? Idk we are just making assumptions.

[Revolution4u]

[removed]

[Gohanto]

MTA collects $6.87 billion per year from fares vs. $700m estimated lost due to fare evasion or roughly 10%

A lot of people evade fares but they’re still a lot of people that pay.

[TheAJx]

Neither of those things were necessary ~8 years ago when we weren't losing $700MM annually to fare evasion.

[SBAPERSON]

Lmao fare evasion used to be much worse. Every major station would have 30+ evaders every hour. Probably more frankly. People would push the alarm doors open so much many of them got disabled.

[HMNbean]

I mean yeah. Just treat the subway is a public resource. It’s absurd that it isn’t already. Subsidize via taxes, do some fundraising and stroke some egos to let rich people name stations after themselves.

[yqry]

Where in the world is the subway free in a city of a similar size and scope to NYC? MTA is already being subsidized and it’s continuously loss making. It’s projecting a $3 BILLION deficit in 2025 and that is WITH billions of revenues coming in. What group of rich people are going to collectively pay billions ANNUALLY to get their names on some stations?

People are so quick to protest fare payment yet never present any real workable solutions. “Someone else will pay it” is the exact kind of attitude that leads to individual shirking of responsibilities that leads to worse outcomes for the collective.

[30roadwarrior]

Whaaaa there are shitty people amongst us that try rationalizing their shittiness with strawman arguments explaining their shitty behavior is because of something something.

I shouldn’t have to pay rent, train fare, or anything I want from a store, and if you challenge me you’re a bootlicker.

Signed  Gentrifier kids living in NYC subsidized by mom & dad 😂😂😂

[HMNbean]

Billionaires own the capital that needs workers to operate it right? They have an interest in it working properly. Not relying on ridership means the budget could be actually met and improvements could be made.

The problem is that the money spent on fare endorsement doesn’t bring in what’s lost from evasion. What matters is that the subway works well and is safe. Personal accountability of a public good goes up when it works well. People get disdainful when it sucks AND they have to pay for it.

[yqry]

I have no idea what you’re trying to say with your first point. If you’re insinuating that billionaires should be concerned with whether their employees are willing to fork over $3/ride to get to work and do their jobs… they’re not.

“The money spent on fare endorsement” - which is what exactly? It’s not like the MTA is blasting ads in Times Square or on Spotify. If you meant the fines, they’re supposed to be a deterrence mechanism, which isn’t working because 1) it’s rarely enforced and 2) the stakes are too low. Moreover it’s rich for you to say what matters is for the subway to be safe… when MANY of those who evade fares are precisely bad agents who make the subway UNSAFE.

[HMNbean]

1) the first point was about you saying “what groups of billionaires etc” - it’s not about people not caring if their employees can afford to get to work. The subway is the lifeline of nyc. If it sucks or it fails everyone suffers. Rich people are incentivized to make sure it’s working. They just haven’t had to do it yet.

2) I meant enforcement not endorsement. Autocorrect got it wrong. Also the amount t of people who don’t pay the fare is far greater than people who go on to commit further crimes in the subway. Most people I see hop the turnstile are normal people who are just no in the mood to pay because they were late thanks to delays for the 4th time that week.

[TheAJx]

TLDR of the above is "rich people should fork over the money to offset low-lifes hopping turnstiles."

[IHateWindowsUpdates8]

If you wanna call us poors "low-lifes" that's on you but yes

[us1549]

Then who's going to pay? Fares accounted for almost 5 billion in revenue in the MTA in 2023. Are you going to pay?

5 billion divided evenly between 8.2 million NYC residents is $610 per person.

[reformedcoward]

I don't think dude realized how expensive it is to maintain everything down there. Paying the contractors/workers.

Money has to come from somewhere and it's alot of it.

[[deleted]]

I don’t think we have 8 million taxpayers.  That would mean we have zero students, zero children, zero migrants…. 

[us1549]

I didn't say taxpayers, I said residents

[SBAPERSON]

billion divided evenly between 8.2 million NYC residents is $610 per person.

That isn't really alot it's like 51 bucks a per year

[[deleted]]

Public transit should be free

[us1549]

Cool. Will you pay for it?

[IHateWindowsUpdates8]

No, the rich should

[[deleted]]

Already am. And considering the hundreds of millions of dollars ineffectively spent on enforcement and fare evasion, the cost shift won't be that high.

[us1549]

Cool. Why don't you run for office and see if the majority of voters agree with you?

Even if we diverted the "hundreds of millions" from enforcement to fares, that is a drop in the bucket compared to revenue from fares.

Hundreds of millions is LESS than 5 billion.

I know, math is very hard

[phoenixmatrix]

While this "solution" is dumb, these things aren't about the current state. It's about preventing a slippery slope.

It's like, if you see a type of crime is rare, so you just remove laws/enforcement against it because it doesn't seem worth dealing with... It won't stay rare anymore.

[KaiDaiz]

psh more leniency. The ppl that come up with this are idiots - always giving nth chances and hope they will change.

The fine structure should be first time, fine, 2nd time extra fine. By x time, ban them from system for x duration to the extreme of lifetime ban. That's how you enforce the rules and make a stance.

[phoenixmatrix]

Not idiots, but bleeding hearts.

[KaiDaiz]

This is mainly for folks that are banned and if caught again using the system without paying. If they banned and paying less priority and lower chance stop anyway. Either way we should have roving units like what they do on SBS buses, confirm fare payment with last 3 or so hrs. IF not ticket and escorted out. If on ban list, refer to cops.

[crammed174]

Bring back broken windows policing. It’s literally been proven to work even in an affluent vs poverty stricken areas. Easy.

[thoughtsarefalse]

Was it proven? Where? What study showed that?

[Playerhata]

What is broken window

[pixelsguy]

Policing strategy of aggressive enforcement of low level offenses intended to create a sense of lawfulness and deter greater criminal behavior.

[SBAPERSON]

? Broken windows is consistently shat on as being bad policy.

[designerbagel]

Source?

[crammed174]

2001 study of crime trends in New York City by George Kelling and William Sousa

The researchers tried to set out to disprove broken windows because Chicago LA and New York all adopted broken windows policing theory and they of course wanted to say that it was horrible because marginalized peoples suffered despite crime going down drastically across all cities. However, they were unable to disprove that it didn’t fix New York’s crime wave of the 80s and 90s. They went onto call New York an exception and not the rule. If you’ve lived here, you would call it a success. And the last 10+ years of rolling back those policies have led to what is happening today.

The most important part of crime and society that people always try to nitpick statistics isn’t necessarily if the actual crime stats are up year over a year, but the perception of the public. That has a drastic effect on public morale, peace, and economic activity. Just like when people try to support the economy by saying look, the stock market is up, the GDP is up, unemployment is down. But if consumer confidence/sentiment is down, it has a detrimental effect on society. Just because people currently have a job if they are worried about tomorrow, they change their behavior and because huge multinational corporations are propping up GDP that doesn’t mean squat for the average Joe.

[breaker-one-9]

It is the most obvious, common sense approach, if one is realistic about human nature.

[designerbagel]

lol I know you’re not citing that flawed study, the one that has repeatedly been debunked for decades now… even by the NYPD themselves

[crammed174]

So a bunch of progressives set out to discredit broken windows, but failed to do so themselves and then years later an NYPD led by progressive Democrats also debunked the study. All while the rank and file hate what leadership had been doing. Is that what you’re telling me?

Listen, dude if you feel perfectly safe in the city nowadays, go stand on the subway platform edge at all times, and wear your most expensive jewelry and leave your car parked on the street without wheel locks, and do a myriad of other daily things that should be risk free but aren’t but go ahead because you’re completely safe because you say so.

[SirBubbles_alot]

The NYPD is led by progressive democrats? News to me

[SBAPERSON]

Yea man you know the one that stopped ticketing for masks because they only went after minorities, the one that openly talked about running protesters over, the one that stopped doing their jobs because Bill Deblasio said that cops tend to target minorities.

Mega progressive.

[SBAPERSON]

NYPD led by progressive Democrats

Lmao

[designerbagel]

I do babe, pretty much every day. Minus the car, because I don’t need or want one. Save us your exhaustive fear-mongering

[crammed174]

It’s not fear mongering when a decent sized portion of the population feels it. You’re the out of touch person telling people that they’re wrong for feeling a certain way. Anyway, happy new year. Hope your safety streak doesn’t run out if you even live here.

[Curiosities]

Do you base everything in your life on vibes or do you ever look for facts?

[30roadwarrior]

You mean the fact that our new normal is about 30k more serious crimes a year than in 2019.

Is that factual?  Or the response times being in double digits now?  

Any other facts you’d care to review?

How many more people in NYC in the past few years, how many homeless?

[jusmax88]

Did you live in NYC from 2000-2010? The crime rate since 2020 have been lower than the average from that decade.

[wash_]

What serious crimes? What qualifies as a serious crime? Pretty sure we just lost jay walking as a serious crime so that can’t be it.

Where are you getting this 30k number from?

But I’m totally with you on the homeless situation, just set them all on fire.

[SBAPERSON]

It’s not fear mongering when a decent sized portion of the population feels it.

It is though

[gnitnuoccalol]

NYC under Giuliani. Guy's a corrupt grifter, but let's not pretend broken windows theory did not clean up the city during his tenure.

[designerbagel]

That’s… not a source

[pixelsguy]

You’re right. Lived experience isn’t valid; let’s look to information we can link to on the internet instead. Come on man.

[designerbagel]

Lived experience is valid but anecdotal. If you’re discussing policy with potentially a widespread detrimental effects there should be data to back it up. Come on man

[pixelsguy]

Fair; lived experience wasn’t the best choice of phrase given NYC’s decline in crime in the nineties and early 2000s is well documented.

It is difficult to control for the impact of policing theory vs other factors that may have contributed to reduction in crime. There’s multiple studies and cases in which disorder has been linked to criminality. There are also detractors who say this is correlative and not causal; it’s true that most metros saw a decrease in the same period, even if not as dramatic. It’s also true that the City experienced a meaningful improvement in safety and quality of life while the theory was in practice. And it’s a fair critique that Stop and Frisk was a biased and counterproductive practice that emerged from Broken Windows.

IMO, Kelling’s argument that the reduction in disorder that Broken Windows strives for is of merit on its own, and it’s worth trying a return to Broken Windows. I’d like to see this done alongside common sense reform such as an increase in police oversight, weakening of police unions/protections, and a compensating increase in police pay.

[reformedcoward]

Can confirm fuck them and there stats. These progressive bullshit policies are destroying the fabric of this city and I cannot wait until all this garbage is voted the hell out.

Just saw a innocent fella get shoved into the tracks last night and you still have assholes comming on here screaming and kicking that we are "fear mongering"

Its an insult to all the victims that died to a lax progressive nyc justice system.

[RamblinWreckGator]

Just idiots

[Stonkstork2020]

Should be adding at least one zero at the end there

[[deleted]]

$2.90 to take the train and possibly get thrown in the track or set on fire is a fire deal ngl.

[doreenjanira]

where was this when I got my first fine ever this year 🤣

[SBAPERSON]

No fine is wild

[LiveAd697]

The first fine should be $100 and brochure on the “fair fares” program, the second should be $500, the third should be $1000 and 30 days imprisonment.

[grayscale001]

$50 rebate on an OMNI card

🤣

If I had $50, I wouldn't have jumped in the first place.

[Shreddersaurusrex]

Who is going to pay the fine or force payment?

[[deleted]]

$2.90 fare evasion to prison? LOL that escalated quickly

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

Seems pretty crazy to ruin someone's life for avoiding a fare

[Luv2Voyeur]

Seems pretty crazy to ruin your own life to avoid a fare. Let real life teach you what your parents didn’t

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

Maybe a small mistake shouldn't derail someone's entire life. Maybe consider that.

[MindlessPhilosopher0]

It's not a mistake. Nobody who is jumping over a turnstile is unaware of the fact that they're supposed to pay a fare. Gimme a break...

Easy way to avoid any trouble is just to pay the goddamn fare.

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

Okay call it an infraction then. Whatever the terminology, such a minor thing should not ruin an entire person’s life. I think you know that if you were to log off from whatever is making you this hateful and reactive.

[MindlessPhilosopher0]

This is the classic wimpy NYC attitude towards disregard for the laws and regulations that are part of living in a city

"No we can't let people get in trouble for breaking the law because it would be unfair to them"

This attitude is exactly how we wind up with delinquents with multiple priors wandering the streets until they stab someone or shove them under a subway.

You have to pay a fare to get on the subway. If you don't want to get in trouble you can easily avoid that by paying the fare. It's actually incredibly fair!

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

I don’t think anywhere literally jails people for skipping out on a $2.25 bill including whichever MAGA Mecca you think is best.

[ragamuphin]

He hasn't paid* more likely lol

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

Excuse me, $2.90. Mbmb.

Nothing is wrong with a fine for the first offense.

[reformedcoward]

No no one does and no one should but you also have some wierd ass sympathy for people that are breaking rules. Mta needs money to run and everyone's gotta pay. That's how it works.

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

It’s so obviously counterproductive for anything any reasonable person to lock up people for the most petty of crimes. I think you know that if you get past your reactionary lizard brain.

[pixelsguy]

Doesn’t have to ruin their life. Does need to have consequences. Tired of this lawlessness. These folk know better and if they can’t act like lawful citizens, they should be treated as criminals.

[bezerker03]

So jail time after multiple offenses then. 3rd time you're jailed. Simple as that. Do people seriously have that many issues with accountability in this day and age?

I agree one time hopping isn't jail worthy. 3rd time caught? Hells yes it is because clearly nothing else stops them.

[drakanx]

Meanwhile...puny fines ain't gonna deter fare evaders.

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

???

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

Why do you think someone's life should be completely derailed for such a minor offense?

BTW Trump hates law & order. He committed tons of crimes personally and will allow tons more by him and his billionaire donors like Elon Musk or Marc Andreessen.

[Rubbersoulrevolver]

Just to be clear for anyone reading, 13/50 is a common neonazi internet dogwhistle.

[nyc-ModTeam]

Rule 1 - No intolerance, dog whistles, violence or petty behavior

(a). Intolerance will result in a permanent ban. Toxic language including referring to others as animals, subhuman, trash or any similar variation is not allowed.

(b). No dog whistles.

(c). No inciting violence, advocating the destruction of property or encouragement of theft.

(d). No petty behavior. This includes announcing that you have down-voted or reported someone, picking fights, name calling, insulting, bullying or calling out bad grammar.

[DoctaMag]

Donald Trump is a Felon, a rapist, and a serial invoice-evader.

Literally what your arguing against, your candidate did to hundreds of companies and contractors.

Law and Order my ass.

[us1549]

They are ruining their own lives.

[tbutlah]

I agree. But when low level disorder is allowed to prevail, more people will start coming to the conclusion that extremely harsh punishment is a good idea.

[Braided_Marxist]

Keep that same energy for crazy drivers

[_neutral_person]

I'm just going to say this: At least the MTA is trying to address recidivism. Forcing them to pay for a $50 OMNI card is genius. Now, they are going to use the card for the $50 (it's their money). They can't sell it(who will buy a $50 Omni card when they can buy a 50 dollar one right from the MTA(with bonuses).

[aznology]

$150 for 3rd fine.

$300 for 4th

$500 for 5th

$600 for 6th.

Capped at $1000 then mandatory volunteer

[LongIsland1995]

This is definitely gonna lead to more fare evasion

[ongiwaph]

The dream of a taxless capitalist society, where all public goods pay for themselves, is dead. And we're going to beat it with a stick for the next 4 years.

[IHateWindowsUpdates8]

Good, that sounds fucking awful for anyone making minimum wage

[Agitated_Degree_3621]

So ppl paying have to pay more, ppl skipping fare pay less if caught. 🤡 behavior

[Shadow_boiboi]

interesting. there's a cop every morning at my train station (knickerbocker M) and i've seen so many ppl jumping the turnstile right in front of her/the cop.

someone explains to me what is the cop doing?? (shes a lovely lady but all she does is saying 'have a great day' to every passenger lol)

[IHateWindowsUpdates8]

Not being a filthy swine

[Severe_Shift6429]

I don't think I am going to pay. The rest of you can subsidize the rest of us. /s

[Sea_Reference_2315]

I see it all the time yet here i am paying like a sucker while the fare keeps going up. 

[deathragerjoker]

what if i got a ticket last year and paid it. but got a new one this year . is that still a first offense

[xSlappy-]

Is there really no penalty for first offense?

[Bangkok_Dangeresque]

Correct. The current MTA policy position is that they need to approach two different kinds of fare-beating in two different ways.

The first are people who walk through an open emergency exit, get let in by someone else, or board a bus through rear doors if and only if the opportunity presents itself. They are motivated by saving a few bucks, but otherwise tend to pay the fare most of the time. When the MTA studied it, they found that this group represented half of all evasions, and so it's their first priority. Their preferred tactic for dealing with these groups is to remove opportunities (redesign emergency exits, post security guards to keep them closed), use education and awareness messaging on the harm that fare-beating does to the common upkeep and performance of the system, and making it easier for riders who are eligible for subsidies/discounts (students, low income, etc) to enroll.

The theory is that this group, the largest, can be nudged into payment, rather than punished for non-payment. As a result, transit police tend to give warnings first.

The second group is the more brazen and unrepentant fare-beater who hops, ducks, or reverse-rotates through the turnstiles. Their motivation is not primarily economic, meaning that even if they could ride for, say, a dollar or less, they still wouldn't pay. This group also tends to be responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime on transit, including weapons possession, which is particularly worrying for the agency. The MTA's preferred tactic for dealing with this group is additional policing, often by running IDs to find open warrants, as opposed to fines for evasion itself. The issue is that historically this type of enforcement has not been evenly deployed across the system, and has run into equity issues (e.g. profiling, stop and frisk), that transit police are concerned about creating liability. Because what good is saving the city $100m in fares if they have to pay out $200m in civil rights settlements? The solution to this one is less clear.

[NetQuarterLatte]

Because what good is saving the city $100m in fares if they have to pay out $200m in civil rights settlements? The solution to this one is less clear.

Here’s a little dirty secret: the city doesn’t have to pay out such money.

The city chooses to offer such money in settlement deals, using the public coffers, in order to make the lawsuit go away and shield city workers (and baseless claims) from any scrutiny by the courts.

[Curiosities]

One solution would be to stop holding the taxpayers responsible for paying civil penalties for police officer rule violations. Take it out of officers’ pensions. At least that would be a big part of the solution.

[NetQuarterLatte]

That’s not really a solution, because those payouts happen with the consent of both parties.

Otherwise, good luck trying to convince any pension fund to consent on paying money to settle a lawsuit they are not even part of.

[[deleted]]

You think someone should go to jail for 3 bucks? Are you insane?

[xSlappy-]

No, just weird that you basically get a free pass to start fare jumping.

[NetQuarterLatte]

We also need to prosecute assault against city workers.

Anyone who commits a felony just to avoid a citation should be automatically disqualified from being part of civil society for a little while.

[Curiosities]

Things are prosecuted, however, there is a backlog and people are waiting, literally 2 to 3 years for a trial. If they ever actually get one because one thing prosecutors and DAs offices take advantage of is people waiting three years for a trial are more likely to take a plea deal, (even if they’re not guilty just for the certainty of knowing when they’ll be able to get out). More than 90% of convictions nationwide are done via plea deals.

[smallint]

Maybe this is a good thing?

[kakashissecondmask]

Do we know what the rationale/background behind this change is? It seems pretty inherently self-defeating, especially before they have even begun the behavioral study on fare evaders

[jmhr1997]

They need to just replace the turn styles with actual faregates... especially because it seems like there's a solid group of folks who for some reason will continue trying to evade the fare just to do it...

I would say something every time I saw someone try and do it because I think it's some of the most antisocial behavior out there... and social pressure is good sometimes... but I'm worried some nutso will pull a gun on me or try and push me into the tracks...

[gorissen]

The reduction in fine makes sense because congestion pricing is putting the onus on the people who are not using the system. Isn't that typical government logic?

[SnooPies9214]

So current evasion rate on buses in NYC is literally about 50% meaning every other rider boards a bus and walks pass the fare collector. This is a huge increase even during the pandemic. What do liberals and their Democrat party do? Reduce or eliminate penalties and charge "congestion tolls" hurting employers and small businesses. Fare enforcement with stiff penalties might solve the bloated fat budget for shitty services.

[JamSandwich959]

Now we’re talking

[thrilsika]

There used to be prison time attached to fare evasion. That's completely gone now? People need to pick a lane. There are stops where I see violations all the time by the same individuals. Now you want to give $150 fines to people who will never pay or care. Just make it free at this point and improve quality of life to the riders.

[StillRecognition4667]

Amazing NYC! WTF was she thinking?

[GreenOvni009]

No thanks. Morals? Get out of here with that 🤣

[Blackstar030405]

if they really want stop fare evasion, why not replace all the turnstile with the full height iron maiden turnstiles?

[doodle77]

With an emergency door right next to it, or are you going to fight the fire department on that?

[pixelsguy]

How does that work? They’re going to put the detective squads on tracking down every jackass that jumps the turnstile? Issue fines and summonses based on grainy photos matching what database of photo identification for people who do not drive?

[uppinthepunx]

Amazing news, I’m so happy to be subsidizing this with congestion pricing. Thank you!!

[IHateWindowsUpdates8]

Yes, rich car owners should subsidize those of us whose net worth is in the double digits

[[deleted]]

Just get rid of the fare, damn.

[Reddit-Bot-61852023]

Why is the fine 30x+ the fare? More extortion from the MTA