I used to love the metro bit now it’s definitely purely the choice of last resort. Ok, maybe not below the bus. |
| I really don't care if people walk through the turnstiles. I pay because I know I'm supposed to. I'd love it if they could figure out a way to cut down on fare evasion so the system isn't deprived of revenue, but I'm not personally bothered by the fact that some people are not paying when I am. |
Arguably, some of the buses are better. |
Fare evasion is theft of services. I'm bothered by increasing crime and disorder, even if it's non-felonious. The fact that we've become more resigned to all of it in DC is a sad and stark illustration of Sen. Moynihan's phrase about "defining deviancy down." |
| It feels like disorder to me as well. I am sorry to hear the new turnstyles were not a solution. |
| Everyone must pay. Simple as that. Metro needs to enforce it. It would eventually slow down then. |
It isn't increased crime and disorder, though. People who don't even ride Metro posting about crime and disorder on Metro, is like me posting about the long lines at Disney World, which I have never been to. |
1. People who ride Metro regularly resent the punks and freeloaders who jump the gates or refuse to pay the fare. They also resent the service cuts (bus lines, frequency of service). Metro's loss from fare theft adds to Metro's fiscal challenge. Metro's other response is to ask DC and other jurisdictions to pay more, which means that law-abiding, tax-paying riders pay twice. 2. Long lines at Disney world don't increase the price of admission or a ticket to a Disney film. Metro fare theft costs all of us. 3. Metro fare theft contributes to a feeling of greater lawlessness on Metro, that manifests itself in greater and lesser offenses (assault, theft, open pot smoking, etc.) |
In the grand scheme of increasing crime and disorder, it's extremely minor. I recognize it's a problem financially for Metro, but I don't share the (apparently) widespread sense that somehow it makes me personally a victim or a sucker. |
Are you one of them? I ride Metro regularly, and I don't. I do resent the surrounding jurisdictions that want to freeload off WMATA without providing a proper, reliable, dedicated funding stream. |
| Regardless of DC law that "decriminalizes" refusal to pay the fare, Metro police should take the position that the offense arises throughout the Metro system, regardless of where the first fare gate is. In other words, the punk could jump a fare gate in DC but steals the fare all the way to Pentagon City or wherever the final destination is. Arrest the creeps anywhere and charge them in VA, where the police and courts aren't reluctant to kick some butt. |
| I don't like the thought of someone I don't know pushing into me without permission. Is that what's going on down there? |
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Thank the pro-crime democrats for this.
Plus: Metro’s facing a financial crisis and this is a big part |
This really would be the best approach. Let them sit on the floor of the Metro station for a couple hours. Waste their time and they will eventually knock it off. |
| Students in DC K-12 schools, public and private, are eligible for a free metro card. |