Bx12 Fare Beating Still A Problem
A little under 2 years has passed & the problem still remains, fare evasion on the Bx12’s Select Bus Service that is. The popular service which started in 2008 has faced this issue from the very get-go. The agency attempted to fix it by stepping up fare enforcement. However a May 2009 report in the New York Daily News talked about how the enforcement had not really fixed the issue. Fast forward to 2010 & the problem continues to persist according to a report in today’s New York Daily News by Mike Jaccarino:
They’re still stealing.
Nearly a year after the Daily News found flagrant fare-beating on an experimental “honor system” express bus line, riders are still ripping off the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a Bronx Boro News investigation found.
After the first News exposé on rampant fare-beating on the Bx12 Select Bus Service along Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway, the MTA said it launched a crackdown.
But recent stakeouts by The News at a number of stops along the route found dozens of riders still brazenly boarding the buses, distinctive for their flashing blue lights, without first buying the required tickets at kiosks at the stops.
Over the course of an hour at each stop, 40 fare-beaters boarded the bus at Fordham Plaza sans tickets; 22 did so near the Pelham Bay IRT subway stop, and 27 at the stop on Pelham Parkway at Williamsbridge Road.
The revelation comes as the money-bleeding MTA implements a Doomsday plan that cuts bus and subway routes around the city. The MTA has also threatened to eliminate the student MetroCard.
The Bx12 SBS began rolling June 30, 2008, as a way to speed up the ride across the congested Fordham Road corridor. The line now carries an average of 30,500 riders weekly.
A squad of eagle-eyed cops and retired police officers were supposed to enforce the bus honor system with spot checks.
The MTA said its has issued 6,532 summonses, each carrying a $100 fine, to date.
Click here for the complete report.
Something needs to be done about this as it is almost 2 years & the same issues continue to manifest. In a day & age where every dollar counts for the much maligned transit agency, they must find a way to work with the NYPD to curtail fare evasion. Maybe the cops should spend less time giving out frivolous tickets to paying subway riders & focus on catching fare beaters on the Bx12.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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[…] Fare Evasion has been a big problem with Select Bus Service so far as the New York Daily News has reported on a number of occasions. Even MTA New York City Transit expected fare evasion to be an issue with […]