CBS News New York has learned some troubling statistics. Every single day close to 1 million bus riders -- 48% -- board without paying the fare. Believe it or not, that is more than double since the pandemic. In 2020, 21% of bus riders boarded without paying. Part of the reason for that is that buses were free during the pandemic and officials say it's hard to put that genie back in the bottle.
What's more, the MTA lost $315 million to bus fare evasion in 2022.
The agency does have fare inspectors who can make you pay the fare or give you a summons, but they can't be everywhere.
Lawmaker floats ride-for-free idea
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani said many don't pay because they can't afford it. His suggestion is to make buses free and have the city and state reimburse the MTA.
"That's about $800 million a year," Mamdani said, "which may sound like a lot of money, and it is substantial, but in the context of a city budget that's north of $100 billion and a state budget that's north of $220 billion, this is just pennies."
The fare evasion is happening as the MTA is facing the problem of proposing a new capital budget next month that will have to deal with an aging fleet, including:
1,500 rail cars are already past their 40-year limit
4,000 more cars will need to be replaced in the next 20 years
Nearly 6,000 buses will have to be replaced by 2044
"You can't sell bonds on an I.O.U. We need funding and we need it set in place," MTA board member Andrew Albert said.
CBS News New York sees fare evasion first hand
Video shows a bus pull into the stop at 149th Street and the Grand Concourse in the the Concourse Village section of the Bronx on Monday. A handful of riders are seen getting on in the front and paying their fare. However, most boarded through rear doors and didn't pay. An MTA official told reporter Marcia Kramer that it's par for the course there, part of a burgeoning and startling problem.
The scene was upsetting to agency board members.
"I yell at some people: 'You want to see service cuts? Keep doing that,'" Albert said.
"It's annoying. Pay your fare"
As for the riders who do pay, they are equally frustrated.
"People who don't pay their fare should really, like, reconsider doing that because paying the fare helps the MTA run more smoothly," one person said.
"Sometimes I have the feeling I'm the only one who is paying the fare, on the bus especially," another said.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0