Fare evasion drops on New York City subways and buses, MTA says

Fare beating on city subways fell by 26% between June and December, with about 10% of subway riders not paying their fares. Credit: Craig Ruttle
Fare evasion in the New York City transit system is on the decline, although 45% of all city bus riders still aren’t paying for their trips, according to new MTA figures.
Data released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority showed fare beating on city subways fell by 26% between June and December, with about 10% of subway riders not paying their fares, down from 14%.
On buses, fare evasion fell 9.1% between June, when fully half of all bus passengers were riding for free, and December.
The MTA has said it measures fare evasion on buses using technology that counts how many passengers are on a bus and how many fares are paid, and on subways through a combination of technology and a team of "human checkers" who are randomly deployed to different subway stations to monitor fare evasion.
The MTA has said it loses about $690 million annually due to unpaid fares and tolls. The transit agency has taken steps in recent years to address the problem, including increased police enforcement at train stations and evasion-resistant subway turnstiles that feature dividers with serrated edges.
"It’s the first time we’ve turned around the trajectory of those stats," MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said at the authority’s monthly board meeting Wednesday. "We’re doing everything possible to make it harder to fare evade. And every incremental improvement is of real value."
Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a statement, said the new numbers show the MTA is "turning the tide against fare evasion," but acknowledged the "work is far from over."
Lieber noted fare evasion on city buses, in particular, has "soared" in recent years, in part because the agency stopped collecting bus fares during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and many riders got used to riding for free.
Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-Malverne) said she remained unconvinced the reduction in fare and toll evasion is not “just a blip,” and questioned whether the MTA could sustain it over the long term. She also said the MTA “should have cracked down” on fare and toll beaters before enacting its congestion pricing tolls, which are expected to generate between $500 million and $1 billion annually through 2031.
The MTA did not provide updated fare evasion figures for its two commuter railroads, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, but did point to MTA Police statistics showing an increase in LIRR fare evasion summonses in 2024 compared with previous years.
In 2023, the LIRR reported it loses about $24 million annually in uncollected, or improperly collected, fares. Newsday reported in April that LIRR conductors issued 159,691 invoices to passengers who did not pay their fares in 2023 — up about 60% over the prior year. The invoices were worth $2,137,877 in unpaid fares.
In a change in policy last year, LIRR passengers who do not pay a fare and do not provide identification are routinely removed from trains by MTA Police.
MTA officials said they’ve also stepped up enforcement of toll evasion at bridges and tunnels. MTA Bridges and Tunnels president Cathy Sheridan said Wednesday that, in the first three weeks of 2025, the transit agency, working with other law enforcement authorities, have issued 4,600 summonses related to toll evasion, including 1,100 to vehicles with covered or obstructed plates.
The crackdown on "ghost vehicles," as law enforcement authorities have dubbed them, comes as the MTA earlier this month launched its congestion pricing system, which uses cameras to charge new tolls to vehicles driving below 60th Street in Manhattan.
Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr., a frequent MTA critic who has filed two lawsuits challenging congestion pricing, offered his take on why fare evasion fell in the latter half of 2024.
"The fare beaters are even afraid to ride the subways and the buses in New York," Clavin said.

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: A new style of bowling that works A new style of bowling, the Agostino family tradition on the hardwood and the wrestling championships in Nassau and Suffolk in the latest episode of 'Sarra Sounds Off."

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: A new style of bowling that works A new style of bowling, the Agostino family tradition on the hardwood and the wrestling championships in Nassau and Suffolk in the latest episode of 'Sarra Sounds Off."
Most Popular




