Metro is stepping up fare enforcement on Metrobus, changing the experience for riders as the transit agency launches a broad push to catch fare evaders.
As May ends and June begins, riders can expect to see uniformed Metro Transit Police officers and other Metro employees on and around buses.
“We are kind of blitzing the system over the following weeks,” Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said Thursday.
Clarke also said bus drivers now make announcements reminding riders to pay the $2.25 fare as they board.
Metro Transit Police, not drivers, will take action if riders do not pay, he said.
“People will pay the fare, or they will be taken off the bus. If they refuse to comply with the officer, they will be arrested. They’re not going to be arrested for fare evasion. They’re going to be arrested for failure to comply or other things,” Clarke said.
Metrobus has about 8,000 stops, and Metro does not have enough transit police officers to cover them all, so they are targeting stops where fare evasion is most common.
“Silver Spring is a good example,” Clarke said. “We were heavy in Minnesota Avenue, Anacostia, New Carrollton, Fort Totten, Pentagon City and Friendship Heights the other day.”
He said officers will also monitor live video feeds to catch fare evaders.
“An officer might be in a patrol car watching cameras on the bus in real time, and then there’s an officer at a stop further up. They will then radio to that officer and say, ‘These four people didn’t pay.’ That (officer) hits that bus stop. They’ll remove them,” Clarke said, adding that he believes the method is a nationwide first.
Since the stepped-up enforcement started Sunday, Clarke said nearly 400 citations have been issued and five people have been arrested on outstanding warrants.
Without the campaign to prevent fare evasion, Metro would lose out on an estimated $50 million in revenue this year, he said.
“Metro wants to run more bus service for the people in this community. We need the revenue to pay for that,” Clarke said.
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