DC decriminalizes Metro fare evasion. Says prosecution is RACIST

[Text Drivers are Killers]

90% of those caught are black and that's not fair!!!!! So now we get affirmative action justice.

https://www.infowars.com/dc-city-cou...-cites-racism/

nov 19 2018 A bill that would decriminalize fare evasion on the DC Metro system passed on Tuesday, with 11 councilmembers voting yes.

The bill prevents those who evade fares from getting jail time and lowers the maximum $300 fine associated with it. Now, a fine may be no more than $50. It is no longer a criminal offense, but a civil offense.

The bill, which was originally introduced by eight councilmembers, was vigorously debated on Tuesday afternoon, with Councilmember Allen and White recalling instances of offenders being arrested.

Allen said on Tuesday that something that these people who described have in common is that, “they’re all residents of color.”

Both White and Allen brought up a report released in September, that more 20,000 citations were issued for fare evasion in a two-year period and more than 90 percent of those riders were black.

[Oneuli]

90% of those caught are black and that's not fair!!!!! So now we get affirmative action justice.

It does seem like a bad idea to have metro fare evasion be a criminal offense. That gives people a criminal record for a fairly mild offense.

In some subway systems, people are expected to buy and validate their own tickets or passes, but with random spot-checking (which takes a lot fewer people and less equipment than gate-keeping at every entrance). Most of the locals then buy monthly passes, so once they have their pass they get on and off without worrying about it. If you're caught without a validated ticket for the ride (or a weekly or monthly pass), you get a fine. So long as the fine is set at an appropriate level, that is enough disincentive. For example, if a ticket costs $3 and you have a 1/50 chance of getting caught and if you get caught the fine is $200, you actually are paying more to ride if you don't get your tickets than if you do. Seems like an appropriate system, to me, rather than burdening the criminal justice system and giving people a criminal record for such things.

[PostmodernProphet]

what's the difference between it being criminal and charging a fine and it being not criminal and charging a fine......is it kind of like being a legal immigrant and living here and being an illegal immigrant and living here?.......

[Irish Exit]

It does seem like a bad idea to have metro fare evasion be a criminal offense. That gives people a criminal record for a fairly mild offense.

In some subway systems, people are expected to buy and validate their own tickets or passes, but with random spot-checking (which takes a lot fewer people and less equipment than gate-keeping at every entrance). Most of the locals then buy monthly passes, so once they have their pass they get on and off without worrying about it. If you're caught without a validated ticket for the ride (or a weekly or monthly pass), you get a fine. So long as the fine is set at an appropriate level, that is enough disincentive. For example, if a ticket costs $3 and you have a 1/50 chance of getting caught and if you get caught the fine is $200, you actually are paying more to ride if you don't get your tickets than if you do. Seems like an appropriate system, to me, rather than burdening the criminal justice system and giving people a criminal record for such things.

With the old cards it was convoluted especially during rush hour because sometimes there would be a lag. I don't know how many times it felt like I about broke my thighs because the spinner gate locked or was slow to open. Haven't been back to try the smart card system. I assume the gates are similar unless they switched to butterfly gates.

[Bourbon]

How's it Feel ?

[Lightbringer]

Why pay for stuff when you can cheat and get it for free?

[Bourbon]

90% of those caught are black and that's not fair!!!!! So now we get affirmative action justice.

Don't-cha just love it when Whity cry's it's not fair?

[Bourbon]

Why pay for stuff when you can cheat and get it for free?

Kinda like an Election ...

[Lightbringer]

Kinda like an Election ...

Exactly!

[Troll]

I wonder something. Is the reason the majority of fare nonpays being black have something to do with poorer people use more public transportation than people who have money for a car?

[Oneuli]

With the old cards it was convoluted especially during rush hour because sometimes there would be a lag. I don't know how many times it felt like I about broke my thighs because the spinner gate locked or was slow to open. Haven't been back to try the smart card system. I assume the gates are similar unless they switched to butterfly gates.

With the kind of system I'm talking about, you don't need gates. Everyone just gets on and off as they please. But, occasionally, the minute the doors close a team flashes badges and goes through checking everyone's tickets. If you're caught without a valid one, you're pulled aside at the next stop and ticketed, similar to a speeding ticket. Given the expense and delay, it's easier just to buy and validate your tickets. And commuters don't even have to think about it, because they can just have a card in their wallet and a monthly auto-renewal charge.

[Bourbon]

What's a Metro-Fare Evasion?

[Oneuli]

what's the difference between it being criminal and charging a fine and it being not criminal and charging a fine......is it kind of like being a legal immigrant and living here and being an illegal immigrant and living here?.......

Think of it as being analogous to the difference between regular speeding (getting a ticket for driving 75 in a 65 zone), and criminal speeding (e.g., getting caught doing 95 in a 65).

[cawacko]

People not paying for BART and Muni buses is a big issue in the Bay Area. It goes back to the broken glass theory used in New York. How long do you allow this type of thing to go on when it brings so many other problems with it?



How bad is BART fare evasion? We saw 90 people in 92 minutes slip through the gates


Why don't station agents intervene? It's not their job, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost told SFGATE.

"In the past, we've had incidents where station agents do intervene and they're assaulted by fare evaders," Trost said.

Station agents' job is essentially to provide customer service: help with ticket issues, monitor any escalator or elevator issues and evacuate the station in case of emergency. They're not meant to go after gate jumpers — for their safety and for the safety of riders.

"Station agents are not police officers. They are not tasked with enforcing ordinances and penal codes. That's the job of BART police officers," Trost said.

Keep in mind the fact we were watching the fare gates at just one of BART's 48 stations, for only a small portion of one afternoon. An estimated 22,000 people ride BART without paying every day.

It's easy to see how station agents may feel helpless to fight fare cheats, a problem that's thought to cost BART up to $25 million every year.

Past attempts to crack down fare evaders haven't gone so well. In 2016 the transit agency bolted shut many of the swinging doors at San Francisco stations often use to skip fares, but it was deemed a fire code violation and they were ordered to reopen.

Earlier this year the agency hired six community service officers to act as fare inspectors — to the tune of $740,000 — to issue tickets to cheating riders. They cited 1,300 offenders in two months, but only about 100 of them paid up, so the effort ended up costing more than it recouped.

The latest plan to stop the bleeding of funds is to replace 600 fare gates with ones that are harder to jump over or slip through — though the upgrade won't come cheap, either. The agency is projecting a cost of $150 to $200 million and there's no timeline for the overhaul yet. Trost says BART is conducting a study and will deliver the results to the board next spring. It'll be up to them how to proceed.

In the meantime, BART is taking a station-by-station approach to combating fare evasion in other ways. Trost says it is adding alarms to some emergency exit gates and relocating others to more visible areas so they can't be used with the same impunity. As budget allows, the transit agency is also trying to add features that make it harder to use elevators to dodge payment, like fencing that forces riders to enter the paid area to use an elevator.

But of course, even these smaller projects come at a cost.

"Every single thing we're talking about costs money. So it can't be done overnight."


https://www.sfgate.com/local/article...n-13186006.php

[Irish Exit]

With the kind of system I'm talking about, you don't need gates. Everyone just gets on and off as they please. But, occasionally, the minute the doors close a team flashes badges and goes through checking everyone's tickets. If you're caught without a valid one, you're pulled aside at the next stop and ticketed, similar to a speeding ticket. Given the expense and delay, it's easier just to buy and validate your tickets. And commuters don't even have to think about it, because they can just have a card in their wallet and a monthly auto-renewal charge.

It is easier just to post a couple guards at the gates at the stations than to put someone on a train. They can double duty to catch pick pockets and the like. I don't know what the person did, but I was waiting for a train at Metro Center and a swarm of guards just slammed some guy to the ground one day. One of them shoved me out of the way as they were doing it. They clearly were after him for something other than jumping a gate to have that many officers involved without even engaging him verbally. They blind sided that dude and all piled on top of him.