The NYPD and MTA ramped up fare evasion enforcement on NYC buses across the five boroughs on Thursday — but not all New Yorkers were keen on the crackdown.
amNewYork Metro was on the Upper East Side and in the Bronx on Aug. 29 as police and MTA Eagle Teams — some in plain clothes — vigorously scoured buses on both 97th Street and 5th Avenue and East Fordham and Grand Concourse.
Task force members removed those who did not pay for public transport from the bus, handing out tickets costing the violators $100 a pop.
“Since we’ve been doing this, we’ve watched people take out their card and pay, so it’s not that it’s an issue of whether or not people have the ability to pay, they’re just choosing to evade it,” Interim President of MTA Demetrius Crichlow said. “They are doing all of the things that New York provides, but they’re not paying us.”
This comes as the MTA say they have already been zeroing in on fare evasion, with weekly summonses going from 387 in January of 2024 to 2,263 in August.
As both officers and MTA security agents handed out fliers on the surge and inspected incoming buses, some commuters waiting at the stop applauded the enforcement — stating that they are sick of paying when others get away with free rides.
“I ride public transportation all the time, and I see fare evaders all the time, and it’s just not fair to those of us who pay the fare to have others come on for free,” Susan Tilson said.
Others agreed, arguing that with congestion pricing halted, the city needs to make up the cash in order to keep the trains and buses chugging.
“I do think it’s beneficial to have enforcement. I think that the MTA needs to have the fares paid, so I think that benefits everybody,” Sherril Fay said. “As I understand, the bus drivers are not encouraged to be the enforcers, and I totally understand that. I think that it’s not their place to do so.”
Some riders, however, believe the crackdown is more trouble than its worth — holding up buses and making people late along the way.
“This is useless, all they are doing is holding up the bus,” one rider said.
In one incident, a woman — who spoke with the help of a translator — said she was digging in her pockets to find change when the bus driver told her to move along and an MTA enforcement agent slapped her with a $100 fine. The woman lifted a small bag filled with silver coins to underscore her intentions.
In another incident, a man was issued a ticket for sneaking onboard a bus only for him to go right back on and once again not pay — only to get booted a second time.
NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper told amNewYork Metro that cracking down on fare evasion citywide is far more important than merely dishing out summonses but also about catching dangerous criminals.
According to Kemper, gun arrests in the subway system are up 76.5% this year, which he attributes to stopping turnstile hopers.
“The public has to enter the buses lawfully through lawful means. That’s either through paying their fare, or, if you can’t afford your fare, through the fair fares program, that offers riders discounted rates, and also letting them know that if you don’t, there’s a chance that you’re going to be stopped by the police or MTA Eagle team,” Chief Kemper said. “You might get away with it today, you might get away with it tomorrow, but you will not get away with it the next day.”
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