MTA will reduce bus service this summer, according to agency

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It's more applicable to commuter rail (if you notice, I mention conductors collecting fares, which isn't a thing in the subway). That being said, POP-style fare collection is very common on both light-rail systems throughout America and in European subway systems; normally inspections only start once the doors are closed and the train is moving. The fine for skipping fares is usually set very high to deter farebeaters, and inspectors are usually plainclothes; when I was in Berlin one of the fare inspectors was a elderly woman who proceeded to lug a fare validator out of her giant bag.

LMAO... This is true.  In Italy, the fare inspectors dressed very discreetly, particularly on the city buses.  I remember going shopping in Scandicci and getting on the bus, and as soon as I stamped my ticket at one of the machines located on the bus, this inspector comes out of nowhere to check it.  The bus was empty and I didn't see him at the bus stop when I boarded.