1 million passengers, half of the number on weekdays… Twice as many as the subway
Drivers are at risk of being attacked when toll collection is enforced
Politically sensitive issues such as the claim to protect low-income people
Subway maintenance budget shortfall for over 100 years
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 26th (local time) that among major cities around the world, New York City has the highest rate of fare-free bus rides.
About half of New York City’s 2 million bus riders on a weekday do not pay, putting serious budget pressure on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
The world’s worst fare evasion is getting worse. Before the pandemic, one in five people rode buses without paying.
New York City officials have focused more on reducing subway fare evasion than bus fare evasion. But in the first quarter of this year, the subway fare evasion rate was 14%, while the bus fare evasion rate was 48%. Subway ridership is about twice as high as bus ridership.
As fare evasion increases, the MTA is under severe financial pressure. In 2022, the loss due to bus fare evasion reached $315 million (about 418.8 billion won), and the loss due to subway fare evasion reached $285 million (about 378.9 billion won).
It is argued that the reason there are so many free riders among bus passengers is because the fares are too expensive. The subway and bus fare is $2.90 (about 3,856 won) per ride. It is also pointed out that, unlike the subway, it is easy to ride the bus without paying the fare. Another reason for the high rate of free riders is that there are few bus routes and traffic congestion is so severe that buses are slow and unreliable means of transportation. Another reason for the increase in free riders is that buses did not collect fares for several months in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic began.
Even before the pandemic, bus fare evasion was rampant. In 2018, 18% of New York City buses were fare evaders, compared with 11% in Paris, 5% in Toronto, and 1.5% in London, where fines for fare evasion are $1,000.
New York City has been slow to address the problem of fare evasion because of concerns about the safety of bus drivers and the mobility of low-income people. When a plan to put police officers on buses was announced in 2019, there was fierce opposition. In response, the MTA is trying to collect fares by deploying unarmed security guards on some routes.
The bus drivers union advises its members not to criticize fare-free passengers because it puts drivers at greater risk of being attacked. In 2008, a driver in Brooklyn was stabbed to death after demanding payment from a fare-free teenager.
The issue of bus fare evasion is also politically sensitive. Fare-paying passengers are outraged by the tolerance of fare evaders. However, groups representing the disadvantaged oppose increased fare collection, citing the high proportion of elderly and poor bus riders, as a reason why increased fare collection would make it more difficult for the poor and vulnerable to travel.
Progressive groups argue that the MTA should operate bus routes with taxpayer money, like schools or police, and not charge fares. In 2017, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York City ordered the city to stop prosecuting fare-free riders.
But the MTA’s deficit from fare evasion continues to grow at a rapid pace, estimated to reach about $1 billion by 2028. Before the pandemic, the MTA was generating 42% of its overall budget from fare collection.
The MTA lost $15 billion in revenue last June when the New York state government banned congestion pricing in New York City, making it harder to maintain the 100-year-old subway system unless it increased fare collection.
Ultimately, the only way is to strengthen fare collection, but it is a very difficult task. Professor Graham Currie of Monash University in Australia, who has studied the psychology of fare evasion, pointed out that “fare collectors have no power to arrest and are not protected when attacked. In New York, the risk is particularly high.”
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2024-08-27 07:36:32