NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — More riders are continuing to forego paying the fare on city buses, a rate that has been steadily increasing for the past year, according to an MTA survey.
According to the survey, 29% of bus passengers rode for free in the last three months of 2021, up from 25% in the three months before that period.
JP Patafio, vice-president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents the Transport Workers Union of America in New York City, told WCBS 880 reporter Steve Burns that it is a reflection of overall bus ridership overall: people with low incomes and few options.
"Most of the bus riders don't earn a lot of money," he said. So you're really talking about the working class, poor working class people."
Patafio said it "sounds like just more trouble" if these riders are penalized.
"It's not something that you can solve by giving people tickets and fines," Patafio said.
It is unlikely that the NYPD would even crackdown on fare evaders on city buses. Despite the fact that officers gave nearly 15,000 tickets on city subways during the last quarter of 2021, not a single bus fare evasion summons was given in all of 2021, according to The New York Post.
Bus drivers are also likely to be hesitant to enforce an MTA fare due to the risk of being attacked.
"We've had many members assaulted," Patafio added.
As a remedy, Patafio said he wants New York City to experiment with making some routes free as they were during the height of the pandemic.
Boston has tested a similar model, eliminating fares on some of its busiest bus lines by using federal pandemic money to fund the program.
"I just think it's one of those things that would benefit society all throughout," Patafio said.
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