Fare Beater Policy Express Bus vs Local Bus

[East New York]

But after what happened to Edwin Thomas can you really blame them. $2.25 is not worth your life.

 

And then you have to look at the situation...say 10pm at night, 13-14 y/o kid loooking lost,no fare...I would take them,even give them a transfer so they could get home. Same time of night but with a 40 y/o drunk...nah,you're not getting on my bus unless you pay the fare...and if you don't have it,tough cookies,you should have had one less drink.

 

And I have to agree with Grand Concourse, they should have fare inspectors checking out the lines that have the most problems. Do a "blitz" in each borough every so often....I bet after a 100 buck ticket people would think twice.

 

How would a fare inspector know if someone did or didn't pay their fare? I don't see the TA purchasing portable MetroCard readers.....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

How would a fare inspector know if someone did or didn't pay their fare? I don't see the TA purchasing portable MetroCard readers.....

 

I don't think the MTA really wants to address the problem, which is why they downplay it. They have undercover cops in the subways to catch people jumping the turnstiles, so they could post these guys on the buses at hot spots and see who pays and who doesn't and ticket them right on the spot just to make an example. That in itself would combat the problem because while people argue that fare beating isn't really costing the MTA anything, it is costing the riders who do pay more by way of fare increases.

 

I personally think that the problem will become worse, particularly on local buses and the subways. There is far less oversight, which makes it pretty easy to ride for free and we all know that most of the cameras in the system, be it on the bus or in the subway stations are broken.

[checkmatechamp13]

But what would count as farebeating? If the person says "I don't have a MetroCard" and the bus driver lets them on, I don't think there is much the inspector could do.

 

The only thing would be if the bus driver specifically told the person that they had to have their fare or else leave the bus, and they refused.

 

Personally, I feel that the more people ride the buses, the better, even if they aren't paying. It makes it easier to justify increases in service.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

But what would count as farebeating? If the person says "I don't have a MetroCard" and the bus driver lets them on, I don't think there is much the inspector could do.

 

The only thing would be if the bus driver specifically told the person that they had to have their fare or else leave the bus, and they refused.

 

Personally, I feel that the more people ride the buses, the better, even if they aren't paying. It makes it easier to justify increases in service.

 

I know you believe that the service should be free, but there is a cost and those who are required to pay should do so.

 

The only cases that I could see the inspector or undercover cops not ticketing them is if the farebox is broken, or the driver allows them on because the machine can't read their Metrocard.

 

"I gots no change", "I ain't got no Metrocard" and all of the other BS lines are all examples of fare evasion even if the driver lets them on. You have to remember that B/Os are not fare enforcers and as others have mentioned, with what has happened to some B/Os, it is not worth confronting passengers about their fare. Let the inspectors or undercover cops take care of that.

 

While we're on payment issues, the MTA should charge to let kids ride the express bus. I see parents get on with like 3 or 4 kids and they take up all of the seats and then those people paying $5.50 may have to stand. That is not acceptable when you're paying that much each way. Let them pay at least $2.25 for each kid and if they don't want to pay for their kids, then they can ride the local bus.

[MHV9218]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well, technically that's a bigger problem. Maybe policy's changed, for for years the rule was no standees are allowed on an express bus. If there were, the B/O would operate drop-off only at EVERY stop until the bus had space.

 

For some reason, the MTA has tried to skimp on service after rush hours on the X1. We were standing room only by the time we got near Chambers and it wasn't like the bus was late or anything. Just not enough service. They used to run every 5 minutes during 9PM...

[checkmatechamp13]

I know you believe that the service should be free, but there is a cost and those who are required to pay should do so.

 

The only cases that I could see the inspector or undercover cops not ticketing them is if the farebox is broken, or the driver allows them on because the machine can't read their Metrocard.

 

"I gots no change", "I ain't got no Metrocard" and all of the other BS lines are all examples of fare evasion even if the driver lets them on. You have to remember that B/Os are not fare enforcers and as others have mentioned, with what has happened to some B/Os, it is not worth confronting passengers about their fare. Let the inspectors or undercover cops take care of that.

 

While we're on payment issues, the MTA should charge to let kids ride the express bus. I see parents get on with like 3 or 4 kids and they take up all of the seats and then those people paying $5.50 may have to stand. That is not acceptable when you're paying that much each way. Let them pay at least $2.25 for each kid and if they don't want to pay for their kids, then they can ride the local bus.

 

There is a cost to all public services, yet many of them are free. Public education, law enforcement, firefighting, sanitation, etc are all free, and they have a cost involved.

 

And you never know if the story the person came up with is real. If they get on at a transfer point, the farebox could be trying to take a fare off when they are entitled to a transfer (If they have a MetroCard with $0 on it, but they have a transfer on that MetroCard), or they could be going to/from school, in which case the MTA doesn't get any money from them (Student MetroCards are already paid for by the city/state. Swiping them just records that a student is riding the system)