The sign at the bus stop reminds me that farejumping comes with a fine up to $150

[conuly]

The fare is $3. If you commute, you take the bus or train twice a day, five days a week. Every week you spend $30*. You'd have to be caught and ticketed more often than once every five weeks in order to make this math not work out in your favor. And that is never going to happen, because there aren't nearly enough enforcement agents. As it is, the ones we have cost more than they make back. It's all a racket, but you'll notice the buses still aren't free because Albany is still in control of the MTA.

* I'm making a few assumptions here, first, that you're not sharing the same card among several family members with staggered schedules; once you spend $35 in a week on the same card, subsequent trips are free. Also, this is the full fare for most buses and trains, but not for the express bus.

Comments

[brokenallbroken]

I don't regularly use the Metro these days, but when I was commuting up to USC, I remember watching the sheriffs fare check every person of color on the platform, but they skipped me. So not having to pay fare is definitely a privilege thing. (although I did get fare checked other times)