Fare-cheaters cost MTA $14 MILLION a year; worst offenders are on Bx19

[Cait Sith]

 

MetroCards? We don’t need no stinking MetroCards!

That’s the code of the road for fare beaters on the Bx19, the bus route with the most cheats in the city, according to drivers and advocates.

 

“It is a major problem on this line,” said Joseph, a driver who estimates one-third of his passengers ride free. “It’s a regular thing.”

 

The Bx19 runs between the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx and 145th Street in Harlem, mostly along Southern Boulevard and 149th Street. Scofflaws who ride it practically beamed with pride when confronted by The Post.

 

One woman who breezed through a back door said getting over is just too easy.

 

“It’s very convenient,” she said. “Now they make buses with three doors.”

 

The brazen Bronxite then ran through a litany of complaints in an attempt to justify her fare skipping: bedbugs, garbage, high fares and handicapped people who slow them down. “Wheelchair people got to go,” she said. “They need their own bus.”

 

Kendra Ellis, a legal commuter from Harlem, wasn’t buying the excuses. “It’s totally annoying,” she said. “I paid my fare, fair and square. Pay your fare — $2.25. If you don’t have it, don’t get on.”

 

Riding at night is the worst, said Gregory Jamal, 40. “After 10 o’clock, forget it. They’re not going to pay unless there’s a cop on the bus, which there never is,” he said. And forget about saying something. “You don’t think that guy won’t confront the driver?” he said of a freeloader. “It’s to [the driver’s] benefit to just drive.”

 

And that’s exactly the way the perpetually cash-strapped MTA — which loses at least $14 million a year to bus-fare beaters — wants it. The agency says its drivers are “supposed to advise the customer to pay the fare,” but spokesman Charles Seaton said MTA guidelines also say they should “make no physical contact and make no demand.” MTA policy doesn’t require or encourage drivers to call the cops, either.

 

Joseph, the Bx19 driver, said the rules are a Catch-22. “If you have no teeth — no enforcement — people are going to do whatever they want,” he said. “If management really wanted to manage this situation, they’d call the police.”

 

The MTA has reviewed fare beating in the past and is now conducting a more comprehensive audit, said agency spokesman Adam Lisberg.

 

The most recent review showed bus riders took about 6.2 million free trips a year, costing the MTA about $14 million.

 

 

 

Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/lawless_bx_free_for_all_0rvK84srj8kO6ztQmAY4DN#ixzz1w5ewXEwi

[Shortline Bus]

I thought it was the B46 in Brooklyn. Last year did not the Daily News do a similar story on farebeating?

[VWM]

That lady said some pretty d*ckish stuff. Handicapped people have to go? The f*ck she's been smoking? All service is handicapped accessible for a reason! Beaming with pride about farebeating? Geez, and she's saying "oh now buses have three doors! ". That's the biggest F U to the I have ever seen. Pay your $2.25 or walk, woman.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

$14 million citywide??? In any event, how can anyone truly know how bad the situation is when there is no one around to really check? Aside from that some drivers don't even hit the button to signify that a person got on without paying and sometimes they may not know, so I think it is far more than $14 million.

[Astoria Line]

Its a shame how the MTA is losing all this money because of fare beaters. I'm a 16 year old boy with no job and I dont get much money but I still pay my fare (on weekends and in the summer when I cant use a student metrocard), so theres really no excuse for some of these people to not be able to pay the fare. The MTA could also use that money to improve service and enforcement. And people wonder why service is being reduced and lines are being cut.. smfh.

[DanTheTransitMan]

Wait, how do bedbugs effect whether or not a person farebeats?

[mark1447]

The Bx19 doesn't look much the worst in farebeaters compared to the Bx36, which is way worst when I ride. Tho it does get a heat of evasion at the Concourse, The Hub, Hunts Point and Westchester Avenue. Most of the folks thinks that with the LFSAs the route is to be treated as if its an SBS route, which is wrong.

 

 

Wait, how do bedbugs effect whether or not a person farebeats?

 

I think she means how dirty the bus is, and yes the LFSAs are dirty, thanks to the filthy a9s folks who ride the bus. I never seen bedbugs on the 19. Thats news to me.

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

B/O's on the Bx19 probably pressed F5 the most. I still believe the B46 or another high volume Brooklyn route could be worse.

[qjtransitmaster]

bed bugs now I have another reason to avoid that bus

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Its a shame how the MTA is losing all this money because of fare beaters. I'm a 16 year old boy with no job and I dont get much money but I still pay my fare (on weekends and in the summer when I cant use a student metrocard), so theres really no excuse for some of these people to not be able to pay the fare. The MTA could also use that money to improve service and enforcement. And people wonder why service is being reduced and lines are being cut.. smfh.

 

 

Yeah well try telling that to some folks who say that $14 million dollars is a "drop in the bucket" for the ...

[NYCtrainfan01]

Fare-beating is like a plague... If nothing is done to enforce the fare then it's just going to keep happening. I'm willing to bet the fare-beaters are the first to start b**ching when the starts bringing out the axe due to lost revenue. How hard is it to pay a $2.25 fare?

 

That woman has some nerve calling out the disabled like that. If she's such in a rush, take the two feet express.

[B35 via Church]

I dread to see how many more millions would be lost if artics ran on the B35, 41, and the 46.....

 

 

 

 

I'm willing to bet the fare-beaters are the first to start b**ching when the starts bringing out the axe due to lost revenue.

Of course.... They're the first & the loudest elephants in the room when service is worsened & fares go up....

Just like the people who don't vote are the first to start bitching about Bush this, Bush that.... Obama this, Obama that....

 

 

I'm a 16 year old boy with no job and I dont get much money but I still pay my fare (on weekends and in the summer when I cant use a student metrocard), so theres really no excuse for some of these people to not be able to pay the fare.

Morals, and lack of them.....

Good to see someone at your age (especially in this generation) exude some.

 

If you're keen enough, you'll learn realllll quick that people in general aren't as broke as they claim....

A fool & his money is soon parted - Always have money for something they want, but never for what they NEED....

That includes rent, bills, fines/tickets, dues, and of course - bus & subway fare.....

 

 

Yeah well try telling that to some folks who say that $14 million dollars is a "drop in the bucket" for the ...

What do they care, it's not their problem.... until their commute is affected.

You know how it goes.

 

 

That lady said some pretty d*ckish stuff. Handicapped people have to go? The f*ck she's been smoking? All service is handicapped accessible for a reason! Beaming with pride about farebeating? Geez, and she's saying "oh now buses have three doors! ". That's the biggest F U to the I have ever seen. Pay your $2.25 or walk, woman.

That level of ignorance doesn't surprise me, lived around ppl. in this neighborhood with that mentality all my life....

False pride runs rampant with their types because they have nothin else to really be proud of in life.....

As she was saying all that garbage (which is probably what she reeks of), I bet she had a nice big smile on her wretched face too....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Of course.... They're the first & the loudest elephants in the room when service is worsened & fares go up....

 

Which is funny because they still don't pay either way. I guess they need some excuse to justify not paying...

 

Morals, and lack of them.....

Good to see someone at your age (especially in this generation) exude some.

 

So true... That isn't to say that my generation is full of angels, but this next generation coming up has far less morals. The sense of entitlement overall is amazing, not just in this situation but in general, as if the world owes them something. smh

 

If you're keen enough, you'll learn realllll quick that people in general aren't as broke as they claim....

A fool & his money is soon parted - Always have money for something they want, but never for what they NEED....

That includes rent, bills, fines/tickets, dues, and of course - bus & subway fare.....

 

Heh, I've been saying that for the longest. Now a certain someone would argue that there are folks that can't afford it... That concept needs to be quantified because many that aren't paying can afford it but simply choose not to pay because they would rather spend their money elsewhere. Wouldn't we all though?? I mean you're paying for a service that isn't free and the folks that cry about how transportation should be free offer no actual plan as to how that would be paid for. There is no such thing as a FREE anything in life. Everything has a cost, be it from a figurative or literal perspective.

 

The real blame here IMO lies squarely on the 's shoulders. More people aren't paying because they know that currently they can get away with it. Notice that this is a problem mainly confined to the subways and buses... We already discussed in previous threads how it isn't a problem on the express buses and commuter trains, and for all of the talk about who rides them, the express buses having only one door, etc. it comes down to enforcing the fare. I was on the BxM1 last night coming back from the city. A white chick got on at 86th street and 3rd and apparently her Metrocard didn't work for whatever reason. I couldn't hear the exchange between her and the B/O (Latino guy) because I was sitting in the back. At that time it had started raining heavily outside and it was the next to last bus of the night (the 22:40 from Midtown). It was clear from her body language that the B/O was not letting her on and was going to force her to pay, which she could only do (apparently since she didn't ask anyone for change) by stepping off of the bus and getting another Metrocard from the subway or whatever.

 

That's something I don't think occurs much on the Riverdale buses because they all go to areas in the city where there are plenty of places to get Metrocards and with all of the seniors who probably get their reduced cards in the mail there are very few folks that would not have money on their cards for the express bus. She was probably persistent because the next and last bus was the 23:40 and not only that she had no umbrella so she would've been soaked to boot. In any event a guy who got on with me at the first stop paid for her since he probably could hear what was going on and I was considering doing the same, but the point is she was about to step off and just take the next bus until he paid and when you enforce the fare that's what happens. I take MetroNorth now a few times a week in the morning and I have yet to see anyone farebeating, but somehow it is such a "science" on the local buses and subways... Yeah right...

 

What do they care, it's not their problem.... until their commute is affected.

You know how it goes.

 

That's what pisses me the most... The ones that are hurt the most by the cuts are usually the folks that do pay. Like I said, $14 million could be used to increase bus service on some lines or perhaps bring back lost service on other eliminated lines, so it is by no means a drop in the bucket.

[checkmatechamp13]

I thought it was the B46 in Brooklyn. Last year did not the Daily News do a similar story on farebeating?

 

 

The B46 might have the most in terms of raw numbers, but there are probably other routes that have it worse in percentage terms. 3,000 riders out of 50,000 riders is 6%. The Bx19 might have a figure like 20% or something.

 

Yeah well try telling that to some folks who say that $14 million dollars is a "drop in the bucket" for the ...

 

 

http://www.mta.info/mta/budget/feb2012/Master.pdf

 

They get about $6.5 billion a year in revenue. $14 million divided by that is 0.2%. It doesn't make it right that this is happening, but yes, it is a drop in the bucket. I'm sure there are plenty of other sources they could squeeze $14 million out of.

 

And if I "supported farebeating", there wouldn't have been times when I walked 3-4 miles when there was a parallel bus line I could've farebeat on, now would there? If I "support" it so much, I should practice what I preach, no?

 

Fare-beating is like a plague... If nothing is done to enforce the fare then it's just going to keep happening. I'm willing to bet the fare-beaters are the first to start b**ching when the starts bringing out the axe due to lost revenue. How hard is it to pay a $2.25 fare?

 

 

I highly doubt that. Out of all the people who attend those public hearings, how many do you think are farebeaters?

[B35 via Church]

Which is funny because they still don't pay either way. I guess they need some excuse to justify not paying...

As my aunt would say... "Nothin from nothin leaves nothin, so shaddup !"

 

 

The sense of entitlement overall is amazing, not just in this situation but in general, as if the world owes them something. smh

Their parents owe them something.... It's called parenting.

(that's the sad part... I don't condone their over aggressive behaviors obviously, but I can kinda see why kids these days act the way they do... To tell the truth, I feel sorry for a lot of em... often they're good kids in bad situations)

 

 

That's what pisses me the most... The ones that are hurt the most by the cuts are usually the folks that do pay. Like I said, $14 million could be used to increase bus service on some lines or perhaps bring back lost service on other eliminated lines, so it is by no means a drop in the bucket.

Good point about those who are hurt most by the cuts.....

 

I don't like to base my opinions off stats (or rely on stats) too much, but I don't care for the downplaying of the obvious either....

Regardless of what the amount is, it's still a hell of a lot of money lost that could be invested into paying for other services throughout the system.....

 

 

Heh, I've been saying that for the longest. Now a certain someone would argue that there are folks that can't afford it... That concept needs to be quantified because many that aren't paying can afford it but simply choose not to pay because they would rather spend their money elsewhere. Wouldn't we all though?? I mean you're paying for a service that isn't free and the folks that cry about how transportation should be free offer no actual plan as to how that would be paid for. There is no such thing as a FREE anything in life. Everything has a cost, be it from a figurative or literal perspective.

 

The real blame here IMO lies squarely on the 's shoulders. More people aren't paying because they know that currently they can get away with it. Notice that this is a problem mainly confined to the subways and buses... We already discussed in previous threads how it isn't a problem on the express buses and commuter trains, and for all of the talk about who rides them, the express buses having only one door, etc. it comes down to enforcing the fare. I was on the BxM1 last night coming back from the city. A white chick got on at 86th street and 3rd and apparently her Metrocard didn't work for whatever reason. I couldn't hear the exchange between her and the B/O (Latino guy) because I was sitting in the back. At that time it had started raining heavily outside and it was the next to last bus of the night (the 22:40 from Midtown). It was clear from her body language that the B/O was not letting her on and was going to force her to pay, which she could only do (apparently since she didn't ask anyone for change) by stepping off of the bus and getting another Metrocard from the subway or whatever.

 

That's something I don't think occurs much on the Riverdale buses because they all go to areas in the city where there are plenty of places to get Metrocards and with all of the seniors who probably get their reduced cards in the mail there are very few folks that would not have money on their cards for the express bus. She was probably persistent because the next and last bus was the 23:40 and not only that she had no umbrella so she would've been soaked to boot. In any event a guy who got on with me at the first stop paid for her since he probably could hear what was going on and I was considering doing the same, but the point is she was about to step off and just take the next bus until he paid and when you enforce the fare that's what happens. I take MetroNorth now a few times a week in the morning and I have yet to see anyone farebeating, but somehow it is such a "science" on the local buses and subways... Yeah right...

With free transportation comes more crime; those that advocate for that really don't look at it that way.... Think it's bad now with people paying 2.25 (well, the fare-paying riders anyway)..... Everyone would end up having an equal false sense of entitlement, since no one's comin out their pocket.....

 

an increased false sense of entitlement out of people in not so great areas is not a good mix (I direct you to your nearest strip club for a good example of that).... Hell, it's bad enough how many arguments/fights you done seen or heard about, regarding someone's stinky food.... someone clippin they nasty ole fungus infested toenails... someone spillin coffee or some other beverage on someone... someone openin up a broadsheet newspaper, invading others' personal space... bumpin into someone w/o apologizing.... the list goes on.

 

folks don't wanna work for nothin, but are always quick to aggrandize themselves.... Me, I'm always skeptical of some free service... that's how I was raised.... If it's too good to be true, it usually is.....

 

When it comes down to farebeating discussions/stories, etc., sometimes I think, what if local buses only had one door like the express buses do (not saying MCI's should run on the locals, just that if they made/ran RTS' & orion's w/ 1 door).... Would farebeating be as big a problem in this city as it currently is.... Or putting it another way, how many less millons would be lost (or saved, however you wanna look at it)..... As far as the subway, what if all the "regular" turnstiles were replaced w/ high entry exit turnstiles... same question, how many less millions would be spared.... You'd like to think it'd be a significant change, but ioonnnoooo......

 

As far as farebeating on the commuter rails, nobody ever really talks about that... I'm not privy to the ways that it's attempted/done now on the LIRR/MNRR.... but I hear back in the day, folks used to hide out in the bathrooms.... ughk, I'd shudder to think what a ride would be like from Poughkeepsie (what up Shortline !) to GCT or from the Hamptons to Jamaica inside the goddamn bathroom !!

[NYCtrainfan01]

 

I highly doubt that. Out of all the people who attend those public hearings, how many do you think are farebeaters?

 

 

I wasn't referring to the meetings, I was referring in general.... Fare-beaters think they can get on without paying but my point was when the axe is out, They start blaming the when in reality, the axe is out due to lost revenue. Partly because of fare-beaters. Fare-beaters don't realize that they are costing the money. When service gets slashed, they will start to complain....

[qjtransitmaster]

I am the first to laugh in their face when the axe comes via 8 is right there is little to no fArebeating on express buses and MNRR and LIRR as drunk and roudy as they get they always find a way to pay the fare now I know why mta treats local bus/subway users like crap the feeling is mutual you give crap you get crap in return.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Good point about those who are hurt most by the cuts.....

 

I don't like to base my opinions off stats (or rely on stats) too much, but I don't care for the downplaying of the obvious either....

Regardless of what the amount is, it's still a hell of a lot of money lost that could be invested into paying for other services throughout the system.....

 

My sentiments exactly...

 

 

With free transportation comes more crime; those that advocate for that really don't look at it that way.... Think it's bad now with people paying 2.25 (well, the fare-paying riders anyway)..... Everyone would end up having an equal false sense of entitlement, since no one's comin out their pocket.....

 

an increased false sense of entitlement out of people in not so great areas is not a good mix (I direct you to your nearest strip club for a good example of that).... Hell, it's bad enough how many arguments/fights you done seen or heard about, regarding someone's stinky food.... someone clippin they nasty ole fungus infested toenails... someone spillin coffee or some other beverage on someone... someone openin up a broadsheet newspaper, invading others' personal space... bumpin into someone w/o apologizing.... the list goes on.

 

folks don't wanna work for nothin, but are always quick to aggrandize themselves.... Me, I'm always skeptical of some free service... that's how I was raised.... If it's too good to be true, it usually is.....

 

When it comes down to farebeating discussions/stories, etc., sometimes I think, what if local buses only had one door like the express buses do (not saying MCI's should run on the locals, just that if they made/ran RTS' & orion's w/ 1 door).... Would farebeating be as big a problem in this city as it currently is.... Or putting it another way, how many less millons would be lost (or saved, however you wanna look at it)..... As far as the subway, what if all the "regular" turnstiles were replaced w/ high entry exit turnstiles... same question, how many less millions would be spared.... You'd like to think it'd be a significant change, but ioonnnoooo......

 

Yep... All we have to do is look at the SIR.... Folks have been complaining for years that crime has increased on the SIR since it was made free and now in addition to the turnstiles installed at a few stations, you have folks wanting either all stations to have turnstiles or even better be manned by ticket agents.

 

 

As far as farebeating on the commuter rails, nobody ever really talks about that... I'm not privy to the ways that it's attempted/done now on the LIRR/MNRR.... but I hear back in the day, folks used to hide out in the bathrooms.... ughk, I'd shudder to think what a ride would be like from Poughkeepsie (what up Shortline !) to GCT or from the Hamptons to Jamaica inside the goddamn bathroom !!

 

 

Well that's not to say that there isn't any farebeating... Just not as rampid... I know when I used the commuter trains in Italy folks were real slick. I mean it isn't that difficult to do, but you have to be lucky and smart. For example, I can already see that agents generally don't come through from my stop (Spuyten Duyvil) until about maybe Morris Heights or even Yankees Stadium, so if you need University Heights or even Morris Heights you could very well ride for free. Folks used to do that in Italy for short distances. Just get up and walk to said spot and get off before the checker came for the tickets.

 

http://www.mta.info/...2012/Master.pdf

 

They get about $6.5 billion a year in revenue. $14 million divided by that is 0.2%. It doesn't make it right that this is happening, but yes, it is a drop in the bucket. I'm sure there are plenty of other sources they could squeeze $14 million out of.

 

Try telling that to the folks that lost their service.... How much money the gets a year in revenue is immaterial. How much they lost a year is, especially when you're asking taxpayers for MORE money. I have a problem with their stance allowing folks free rides, and meanwhile they expect me to pay more and more for dirtier local buses and subways and they get away with it because of our lax politicians. 14 million a year and times that by 5 or 6 years and that's over 50 million dollars lost that could be used to improve services. I don't call that a drop in the bucket by any means. An agency that wants more funding should be watching every damn cent. An agency that's losing $14 million a lone in just farebeating makes you wonder just how accountable they are overall and how financially "poor" they are... How much more millions a year do they lose from other issues?? An agency that cries poor shouldn't have $14 million to just watch fall by the wastes

 

And if I "supported farebeating", there wouldn't have been times when I walked 3-4 miles when there was a parallel bus line I could've farebeat on, now would there? If I "support" it so much, I should practice what I preach, no?

 

 

Just because you don't do it doesn't mean that you don't support farebeating. You've made that argument before which I call utter BS. Quite frankly I think if you knew of a way that you could pay less or pay the bare minimum and still ride "legitimately" you would, otherwise you wouldn't go looking for Metrocards on the cheap as you have before, which is not exactly legal... Now I know your argument will be that if I can ride for less why shouldn't I, but those Metrocards are not officially sold by the and the fact that you would even consider doing that when the fare is dirt cheap to begin with shows your mentality. Technically doing what you were trying to do would be farebeating.... The only difference is that you'd walk on and dip a so called Metrocard that you would receive at a deflated price that you shouldn't have received as opposed to someone who hops on through the back door or just walks past the farebox in the front.

[mark1447]

 

 

The B46 might have the most in terms of raw numbers, but there are probably other routes that have it worse in percentage terms. 3,000 riders out of 50,000 riders is 6%. The Bx19 might have a figure like 20% or something.

 

 

 

 

20%? Nononono. Gotta ride the Bx19 more bro, a bit more then that. But of course not the highest.

[B35 via Church]

Just because you don't do it doesn't mean that you don't support farebeating. You've made that argument before which I call utter BS.

Let him continue to dig his own grave.....

 

 

Well that's not to say that there isn't any farebeating... Just not as rampid... I know when I used the commuter trains in Italy folks were real slick. I mean it isn't that difficult to do, but you have to be lucky and smart.

 

For example, I can already see that agents generally don't come through from my stop (Spuyten Duyvil) until about maybe Morris Heights or even Yankees Stadium, so if you need University Heights or even Morris Heights you could very well ride for free. Folks used to do that in Italy for short distances. Just get up and walk to said spot and get off before the checker came for the tickets.

 

Of course not... I'm well aware you can't really stop someone determined enough to engage in any type of wrongdoing.....

Besides... knowing the MTA, if there was no farebeating on the commuter rail, they'd gloat about it every chance they got !

 

But now that you mention it... matter fact, the last time I took the LIRR out of penn (I was heading out to Babylon), there was a lady that got on at Jamaica.... She got off at the next stop, which was St. Albans.... I just looked at her as she was exiting the train like wtf? You did that for one stop.... But then I realized the c/r never came back in that car I was in, until we hit the RVC (rockville centre) area....

[CPBO]

It's really simple....keep not enforcing the fare they will just keep doing it....I mean look at the system as a whole....most fare beaters are people that are abusing the system anyway....hell if i got free living and food and medical...I guess I would feel why should I pay for the bus!!

[checkmatechamp13]

Just because you don't do it doesn't mean that you don't support farebeating. You've made that argument before which I call utter BS. Quite frankly I think if you knew of a way that you could pay less or pay the bare minimum and still ride "legitimately" you would, otherwise you wouldn't go looking for Metrocards on the cheap as you have before, which is not exactly legal... Now I know your argument will be that if I can ride for less why shouldn't I, but those Metrocards are not officially sold by the and the fact that you would even consider doing that when the fare is dirt cheap to begin with shows your mentality. Technically doing what you were trying to do would be farebeating.... The only difference is that you'd walk on and dip a so called Metrocard that you would receive at a deflated price that you shouldn't have received as opposed to someone who hops on through the back door or just walks past the farebox in the front.

 

 

Yeah, the fare is dirt cheap. OK.......

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Yeah, the fare is dirt cheap. OK.......

 

 

Yes, it is and if folks can't afford $2.25 then they shouldn't be living in NYC. Everyone knows that NYC is an expensive place to live. That is no secret, but when you consider how far you can go on $2.25 it IS dirt cheap. The problem is that some folks don't think they should pay anything and so they look to justify FREELOADING off of the system and off of others who already pay their fair share. Like CBPO said, the majority of the folks stealing rides are already freeloading off of the taxpayers... Enough is enough already. They either pay their fair share like the rest of us or WALK. There is no law that says that folks are entitled to a free ride but since there isn't one the freeloaders have decided to take matters into their own hands and dictate how things should be and the has sat back and allowed it to happen. The only one suffering is the rider that pays their fare through higher fares and reduced service and I say that the riders should fight back. In fact I would like to entertain anyone who is interested in starting a campaign to protest the 's lax stance on this whole farebeating issue and demand that they do something about the problem. I may very well write to a few senators and other politicians about this because the situation is out of control already and as a taxpayer and passenger we deserve better not only by way of service, but better use of our tax dollars. I have a problem with them (a public agency) thinking that it's okay to disregard losing $14 million a year in revenue at a minimum while we the riders face higher fares and reduced service.

[B35 via Church]

Yes, it is and if folks can't afford $2.25 then they shouldn't be living in NYC. Everyone knows that NYC is an expensive place to live. That is no secret, but when you consider how far you can go on $2.25 it IS dirt cheap.

 

I wouldn't define the base fare of 2.25 as being dirt cheap necessarily (4.50 a day I wouldn't say is like pocket change... well not for me anyway).... Who am I to try to dictate someone else's financial standing....

 

But yeah, you can go pretty goddamn far on 2.25 here....

I'm just thankful that we don't have zoned fares in this city like they do out in Jersey.....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I wouldn't define the base fare of 2.25 as being dirt cheap necessarily (4.50 a day I wouldn't say is like pocket change... well not for me anyway).... Who am I to try to dictate someone else's financial standing....

 

But yeah, you can go pretty goddamn far on 2.25 here....

I'm just thankful that we don't have zoned fares in this city like they do out in Jersey.....

 

 

Well it isn't dirt cheap but it is for NYC. That was the point I was making and like I said if they can't afford $2.25 they have options. Ride a bike, walk, hitch hike or bum rides from friends or move elsewhere where the fare is cheaper. Those are all legal options.