According to the New York City police department, subway crime is up 53 percent so far in 2022 compared with 2021. Since ridership grew by 64 percent in that time period, that means that crime rates per rider have actually fallen, but that doesn’t reassure many people.
This photo was taken by MassDOT in 2010, when the MBTA could say that 2009 crime had reached a 30-year low. Yet FTA data show that, by 2021, the MBTA suffered almost 19 times as many “security events” as in 2009: 94 vs. 5.
Nationwide, Federal Transit Administration data show that, through the end of March 2022, transit crime (not counting suicide) is 44.4 percent more than the same period in 2021. This is almost exactly the same as the increase in ridership, which was 44.9 percent. Former riders who are reluctant to return to transit may be justified in not doing so.
Many crimes are directed at transit workers. Assaults on New York City transit operators happen an average of once per day. More than three out of four transit workers say they are afraid to come to work. Transit unions recently sent a letter to Pete Buttigieg and FTA administrator Nuria Fernandez asking them to take more actions to increase transit security, though the real actions must be taken by transit agencies.
BART rider Darrell Owens has a proposal to reduce crime: Decriminalize fare enforcement. BART, he says, spends $2.6 million a year on fare enforcement that results in the collection of less than $30,000 in fares. Sounds like a pretty poor benefit-cost ratio.
The purpose of fare enforcement, however, is not to collect more fares than the cost of enforcement. It is to send a message to potential criminals that they are likely to get caught. If they can’t get away with minor crimes such as evading fares, they will be less likely to try to get away with major crimes such as assaults, robberies, and attempted murder.
This is known as the broken windows theory (which name comes from the notion that a building with broken windows is more likely to be broken into than one that is well maintained). While the theory is controversial, there is clear evidence that lack of fare enforcement is correlated with transit crime. As I demonstrated in March, the highest rates of transit crime are associated with light rail, which has the least fare enforcement of any transit mode. The only other mode of transit that comes close is trolley buses, and that is solely due to high crime rates on San Francisco trolley buses — which, like light rail, has minimal fare enforcement. Unlike most other buses, the drivers of San Francisco trolley buses don’t check for fare payments as people board.
Owens worries that fare enforcement can quickly turn into police brutality. But police actions aren’t necessarily the best way to enforce fares. Instead, turnstiles in subway stations should be replace with gates that can’t be crossed without paying a fare. Fences and gates should also be placed around light-rail stations and stops. Once people pass through these gates, they should feel as safe as they do at home or anywhere else. Fare enforcement on buses should be done by the drivers, as has been done for decades except recently in San Francisco and a few other cities.
People should also be protected from falling or being pushed onto tracks by screens between the platforms and the tracks. Doors in the barriers would open only when a train is in the station. This is the way most airport rail systems work as well as many rail systems in other countries.
Such barriers and screens will cost money. Despite the infrastructure bill, rail transit still has a huge backlog of maintenance and repair projects, many of which won’t be fixed with money in that bill. All of which raises the question: is rail transit worth it? Outside of New York City, the answer is mostly no. Even in New York City, the value of rail transit is becoming questionable as more people work at home and the job density of Manhattan seems to have permanently declined.
Broken windows workssssss….
Look no further than New Yorks overall crime.. in 1990 New York had 2200 murders…. literally 5 murders a day. When Giulianni came in…. he worked with police to computerize all crimes, knock down all petty acts, enforce decency standards….by time he left office NYC had 640 homicides a 70% reduction…. and by 2017 reduced to 292.
The rise if the new political left, defunding police, BLM murder jumped again…. to nearly 500.
People should also be protected from falling or being pushed onto tracks by screens…..
Why does anyone stand so close to edge of a moving train
Fares are more than just user fees…. they’re a discriminatory backing…by isolating those that don’t pay…you find the rotten apples. Yes sone
decent people skip… out of poverty or forgetting. But overall self deliberate fare jumpers are typically up to no good. Fares send the message a person is paying because they HAVE to be somewhere.
One alternative to cash fares …
“The ORCA card (standing for One Regional Card for All) is a contactless, stored-value smart card system for public transit in the Puget Sound region of Washington, United States. The card is valid on most transit systems in the Seattle metropolitan area, including Sound Transit, local bus agencies, Washington State Ferries, the King County Water Taxi, and Kitsap Fast Ferries. It was launched in 2009 and is managed by the Central Puget Sound Regional Fare Coordination Project, a board composed of local transit agencies.
The card is able to be loaded with “e-purse” value, similar to a debit card, and monthly passes. Cards are sold and reloaded at participating grocery stores, customer service centers, and ticket vending machines at transit stations. ORCA cards offer free transfers between transit systems within a two-hour window.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORCA_card
In my experience … transit police “roam” around the system checking that riders are holding and using a valid ORCA Card. It appears to be relatively easy to administer and one card can be used for busses and trains.
Any system’s problems are mostly at the margins and cards solve many of them. No system is perfect.
Fares serve another purpose…they signal that people are willing to utilize the service you offer. What free transit signifies is its either so abundant you couldn’t charge it….. or so crappy you have to beg people to use it ?
Even if you don’t profit….. a decent farebox recovery is signification you’re needed……or necessary.
They emphasize who needs or wants to ride… cuz mo one
Continued: cuz no one is paying just to sit on the subway and beat off….
In New York, bus drivers stopped enforcing fares before the pandemic and they have completely given up since then. They probably think of themselves as drivers, not cops. Fare evasion on buses varies by neighborhood. It’s not too bad in Manhattan but it’s rampant on many lines in The Bronx. I’d guess it’s around 30% at least on some lines I use. It’s not 1985 any longer. There is some police presence at subway turnstiles but it is very spotty.
The reason people stand so close to the moving trains in New York is because almost all the platforms are very old (pre-1940) and are extremely narrow by modern standards. I try to stand with my back against the wall or behind a pillar at the “island” stations. Screens would be nice, but the MTA would have to pay to build them and then, most importantly, maintain the gates. They are already years, decades behind in meeting ADA-access standards. The elevators and escalators are in need of constant repairs. For the platform screens, at best they will have a few at the busiest stations in the next ten years.