Fare evaders now account for a third of all bus trips taken in NYC, with half of all trips in the Bronx taken for free and the scam costing the MTA $56m in just three months.
The latest fare evasion survey shows the Bronx is the Big Apple’s problem borough, with one in two bus trips there going unpaid for. Staten Island has also seen a spike in evasion, according to the New York Post.
Exact statistics have not yet been released by the MTA, with DailyMail.com reaching out for further details.
‘The high rate is mostly being driven by [an approximately] 50 percent non-payment rate in the Bronx, and a jump in non-payment on Staten Island,’ a source close to the MTA told the New York Post.
Worsening fare evasion has also been blamed on the five month period in 2020 when buses effectively became free across NYC. Riders were told to board buses by back doors only to try and limit contact with drivers during COVID, meaning they didn’t have to buy a ticket or swipe their Metrocard.
The city’s bus system saw a four per cent increase in fare evasion in three months from October to December, rising from 25.2 per cent in July, August, and September to 29.3 by the end of 2021, leaving the transit bureau with a $56million deficit. The bus system also lost $42million between July and September.
The subway system – which has been plagued by murders, assaults and homeless people sleeping on trains in recent months – also lost $41million by riders who jumped the turnstiles.
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SOURCE: Daily Mail, Alyssa Guzman and Alastair Talbot
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