Fare evasion down on MTA systems during past six months
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has seen a decrease in fare evasion during the past six months. According to the agency, from June 2024 through December 2024, subway fare evasion went down 26 percent. Across buses, including both the local and express bus network, fare evasion went down by 9.1 percent over the same period of time.
MTA says the progress in fare evasion follows a comprehensive strategic response implemented by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, the New York Police Department (NYPD) and MTA — including strategic deployment of enforcement, modifications to fare gates at numerous transit stations and other measures helping to reduce fare evasion. The authority is installing new anti-fare evasion measures at all subway turnstiles this year and new fare gates are being installed at 20 high-traffic stations this year.
“We’re turning the tide against fare evasion to help protect transit riders and taxpayers and continue strengthening our transit system,” Gov. Hochul said. “Our work is far from over, and we’ll continue to crack down on fare evasion this year through strong enforcement and new measures coming to subway turnstiles and fare gates throughout the system.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber added, “Our strategy has been to publicize the seriousness of the problem, to put in place stronger physical barriers and to make sure there’s plenty of enforcement. We welcome the support we’re getting from Gov. Hochul and the NYPD and also the work that MTAPD is doing on the railroads, and it’s all starting to pay off.”
According to the MTA’s Blue-Ribbon Panel report, the situation regarding fare evasion had reached crisis levels, with the MTA losing an estimated $690 million in unpaid fares and tolls in 2022. To drive down fare evasion, Gov. Hochul and MTA have utilized recommendations from the report to advance a comprehensive strategy that has included strategic deployment of enforcement and ongoing modernization of turnstiles and fare gates, as well as other measures. MTA says the effort has also included strengthening coordination with NYPD to boost on-the-ground resources and increase the number of summonses for fare evasion.
Strategic deployment of enforcement
NYPD collaboration
MTA notes the NYPD issued 143,100 TAB summonses for subway fare evasion in 2024, a 96 percent increase from 2019. NYPD also created a new uniformed bus enforcement unit that has been deployed alongside the MTA’s EAGLE Team, the MTA’s civilian bus fare inspection team, to support fare compliance across all five boroughs.
Bus fare enforcement: MTA EAGLE Team
Following recommendations from the Blue-Ribbon Panel report, the MTA took a data-driven approach to optimize deployment of the EAGLE Team to the bus stops and times of day with the highest concentration of fare evaders. MTA notes EAGLE Team inspectors are charged with inspecting fares on local and SBS bus routes and with NYPD support, the officers both educate members of the community on fare payment options and issue summonses. The MTA has stepped up EAGLE Team deployment, enforcing bus fare payment on 148,000 buses at over 370 stops since September 2024. In 2025, the MTA will also implement sensors and screens on buses to further track and deter fare evasion.
Subway fare enforcement – gate guards
The MTA deployed unarmed gate guards across more than 208 subway stations, an expansion from 50 stations, taking a data-driven approach to optimize deployments based on station characteristics, ridership patterns and more. The authority says gate guards deter fare evasion.
Environment: Improving the fare control environment
Expanding on several successful pilots from 2024, the MTA is rolling out data-backed modifications to more fare gates across the subway system and expects to see an even greater impact by combining multiple efforts together.
Turnstile modifications
The MTA has taken steps to tackle evasion tactics at the turnstiles to create stronger, more resilient barriers against fare evasion, including the reconfiguration of turnstiles to prevent back-cocking at 75 percent of all turnstiles and installation of turnstile fins at 20 fare control areas, which have dissuaded and reduced the number of individuals jumping the turnstile. In the coming months, the MTA will scale up the initiative and implement a newer generation of fins, pilot additional anti-jumping interventions and complete anti back-cocking modifications at the remainder of the turnstiles systemwide.
Stopping the superhighway of fare evasion
According to the authority, delaying the opening of the emergency exit gate by 15 seconds has proven to be cost-effective in pilots, reducing gate evasion by nearly 40 percent. The MTA will build on the successful pilot and roll out the delay at exit gates in at least 150 stations in 2025, beginning at 34 St.-Penn Station, Canal Street, 161 St.-Yankee Stadium and Jay Street-MetroTech.
Modern fare gates
The MTA replaced traditional emergency exit gates with new, accessible wide-aisle gates at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, 34 St.-Penn Station and Astoria Boulevard and introduced a new full array at Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue, where fare payment increased by 20 percent compared to 2023.
In December 2023, the MTA released a request for information to qualify the next generation of secure, accessible and modern fare gates. After receiving and evaluating 12 responses from gate vendors, the MTA began in-lab testing of promising gate technology. The MTA will be conducting in-system testing and implementation of new fare gates at 20 stations by the end of 2025, and an additional 20 stations in 2026.
The MTA will prioritize stations with higher ridership traffic, accessibility features and those with high fare evasion. Initial installation is scheduled to begin at 42 St.-Port Authority, Delancey Street-Essex Street and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue.
The MTA’s proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan will accelerate this implementation even further, including $1.1 billion to install modern fare gates in at least 150 stations systemwide.
Additional strategies to reduce fare evasion
In 2024, the MTA began adopting best practices in behavioral change to further reinforce the need for fare payment. MTA says the work it has done with New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) to encourage student use of OMNY cards reinforces the importance of fare payment. Since the launch of student OMNY cards in September, the authority says there has been a 51 percent increase in rides and 18 percent increase in weekly active rides among students and a 27 percent increase in taps-per-active-card during the previous semester compared to 2023.
According to MTA, the new partnership with NYCPS has resulted in consistent fraud monitoring to ensure student cards are being used by the student to which they are assigned. The MTA has also created 15 customer service centers that will be integrated with enrollment in fair fares, the city of New York’s program to provide eligible New Yorkers with half-fare MetroCards and OMNY accounts, as well as the MTA’s reduced-fare program.
