NEW YORK — The MTA and NYPD are stepping up their enforcement of fare dodging on buses in New York City.
On Thursday, undercover agents saw that in some cases bus passengers did not pay and wrote them fines.
CBS News New York went to the Fordham and Grand Concourse bus stop in the Bronx. It was obvious to those who got on that this was not the day to skip the fare. Some passengers who got off were pulled over if they didn’t pay.
The role of the Eagle Team
Enforcement is carried out by members of the city’s Eagle Team, which currently numbers just 200, according to the MTA. They are increasingly responsible for issuing citations, in plainclothes and uniform, to hundreds of thousands of daily bus riders.
On Thursday, an undercover officer asked a woman for identification and then wrote one of the many tickets seen by reporter Doug Williams. Later, a woman appeared to want to pay, but she didn’t and was escorted out.
If a driver is wanted because of a criminal past, he or she can be arrested if he or she identifies himself or herself during the report.
“Bus drivers are not encouraged to be the enforcers and I totally understand that,” said Sherrill Fay, a passenger. “Making an effort to enforce is beneficial to everyone.”
“I don’t say anything about it because I’m concerned about my own safety, but it does get really annoying,” Susan Tilson, a traveler, said of fare dodgers.
Transit officials also handed out flyers to inform the public about the ramped-up efforts, which aim to address what officials call an alarming problem.
Fare dodging has become an urban epidemic
Every day, almost 1 million passengers (48%) board without paying.
“Isn’t it interesting that it might take a while for people to realize that they have to pay to legally use the subway or, in this case, the buses in New York City,” said Michael Kemper, chief of public transportation for the New York Police Department.
And then there’s the issue of budget.
The MTA is due to propose a new capital budget next month that must take into account an aging fleet of 1,500 rail cars that are already past their 40-year limit, another 4,000 rail cars that will need to be replaced over the next 20 years and nearly 6,000 buses that will need to be replaced by 2044.
“I work here and I’ve never seen anyone pay for bus 1 or 2,” someone said.
“Nobody comes in through the front door, especially not on this bus,” said another.
One woman said it doesn’t really bother her when people don’t pay, adding: “Sometimes I [money]sometimes not.”
