70% of WMATA bus riders don't pay

[Anonymous]

Why are they letting them on the bus? When I was a teenager and I didn't have enough money for the bus they didn't let me on and I was going to WORK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are they letting them on the bus? When I was a teenager and I didn't have enough money for the bus they didn't let me on and I was going to WORK.

Did you just try boarding the bus anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:N

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should put transit police on buses and if people don't pay, get them off the bus and arrest if needed. The bus driver should be focused on driving the bus safely and keeping to a schedule, while others can focus on fare enforcement. If word gets around about people actually getting put off buses or arrested, especially by undercover police, people will pay the fare more often. If people get upset when someone gets put off the bus for non-payment, let them tap their credit card and pay for the person to ride...only arrest if the person refuses to get off the bus or becomes violent. Promote things like kids ride free and the half price fares for snap recipients too.

+100
This is what they do in some other countries. Fare inspectors randomly check on buses. So you don’t need one on every bus all the time but then go bus to bus to start enforcing.

Then when people are worried they might get caught, they might actually start paying.

[Anonymous]

It's like this on fairfax connector local busses too. Lots of people just walk by and the driver doesn't usually say anything.

[Anonymous]

I don't ride the bus as much post-Covid, but once I tried to pay and my card was empty, so I stood to the side to get out my wallet and the bus driver just waved me to sit down.

I also have gotten on the bus, gone to pay, and had the driver cover the fare tapper thing with his hand and wave me back.

I don't know if it's just more efficient to get everyone on, or if the drivers see so many people not even try to pay that they want to do a solid for someone with good intent by "gifting" a free ride? But all of that is to say: I'm technically part of the 70% and I don't think I've done anything wrong.

[Anonymous]

Do we really want drivers doing fare enforcement? I'd rather them focus on driving than onntrying to avoid getting stabbed... https://katv.com/news/nation-world/wmata-metro-bus-fare-stabbing-wrist-stabbed-metropolitan-transit-police-department-mtpd-office-trenton-lorenzo-collier-gallery-place

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we make the toll roads free too?

The vast majority of roads are free, despite being maintained by taxpayers. Why do we subsidize drivers but ask bus riders to pay?

[Anonymous]

We recently moved back to Arlington after 15 years away from the DMV. My 18YO son got home from visiting friends in DC one day last week and said, 'I didn't realize that the buses are free!'. I told him that to my knowledge they are not, but he said that he got on and there wasn't anything indicating that he needed to pay. I was super confused and wondered if maybe the bus driver had assumed that my son was a student, with free Metro access (he is not as he goes to college out of state). I was used to scanning my Metro Card at the front of the bus when we lived here before - but I know that you can just Apple Pay on the metro now - is it the same on the bus?

Anyway, I was reminded of this when I saw this post. My son really did not realize that he had done anything wrong. And yes, I shared the link with him.

[Anonymous]

What percentage of that is students? They ride free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we make the toll roads free too?

The vast majority of roads are free, despite being maintained by taxpayers. Why do we subsidize drivers but ask bus riders to pay?

Drivers pay for roads in a thousand different ways -- the gas tax, registration fees, title fees, inspection fees, license fees, parking fees, traffic fines and of course income taxes, which are mostly paid by the rich and how many rich people do you know who don't have a car? We charge people to ride the bus for the same reason we charge to ride the subway. The people getting the benefit should have to foot part of the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of that is students? They ride free.

They still need to tap their kids ride free card and when they do they are counted as paying. This stat is about people who don't tap a card at all.

[Anonymous]

Using transit is not a crime

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should put transit police on buses and if people don't pay, get them off the bus and arrest if needed. The bus driver should be focused on driving the bus safely and keeping to a schedule, while others can focus on fare enforcement. If word gets around about people actually getting put off buses or arrested, especially by undercover police, people will pay the fare more often. If people get upset when someone gets put off the bus for non-payment, let them tap their credit card and pay for the person to ride...only arrest if the person refuses to get off the bus or becomes violent. Promote things like kids ride free and the half price fares for snap recipients too.

+100
This is what they do in some other countries. Fare inspectors randomly check on buses. So you don’t need one on every bus all the time but then go bus to bus to start enforcing.

Then when people are worried they might get caught, they might actually start paying.

those 70% not paying are not worried about getting caught. you are completely missing the point of who these offenders are.

[Anonymous]

The bus should be free and a bill was in fact passed to make the bus fare free in 2024. Extending the COVID bus free fare but then the GM at WMATA decided to cry poverty in the fall of 2024 and now here we are!

No one should be required to pay bus fare when WMATA gets money from two states and a jurisdiction.... all of it is literally greed.