DC Metro proposes new funding model for buses after 70% of riders don’t pay

The Washington, D.C., Metro leaders are looking to change the funding scheme for the busing system after finding that nearly 70% of riders don't pay the fare.

Fare evasion in train stations has plummeted since the installation of higher gates that disable riders from jumping over them. However, evasion has not only remained endemic to the bus system but actually skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising to 70% from a prepandemic 17%.

Metro board member Matt Letourneau gave the figure of 70% at a meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, which was then confirmed by a Metro spokesman, the Washington Post reported .

The financial figures from fiscal 2024 are particularly damning; despite 5 million more people riding on buses than on trains, the buses brought in just $50 million compared to the trains' $301 million.

Fare evasion in buses is much more difficult to combat, especially as bus drivers aren't keen on confronting riders, fearful of violent escalation.

“Bus operators have really mixed feelings,” Jacob Wasserman, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies research head, said. “Some don’t like fares because it often escalates into confrontations. On the other hand, fares are one of the few levers they have to control who is on their bus. It’s a complicated issue.”

The current funding scheme for the Metro system has the governments of Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland pay based on how many of its constituents use the system. The new plan would have them pay based on the amount that their riders contribute, incentivizing crackdowns on fare evasion.

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Letourneau said that the new system is “an incentive to make sure your riders are paying because there is a cost for the system for those that aren’t.”

The new plan is expected to be presented at a Metro board meeting on Thursday.