As buses pulled up to stops at the Fort Totten Metro station Wednesday afternoon, several officers wearing yellow vests stood next to them.
In some cases, they got on the bus itself, engaging with the driver. On other occasions, they stood right outside the doors, making sure everyone boarding was paying for the ride.
Before the pandemic, about 25% of passengers didn’t pay when they got on a Metrobus, General Manager Randy Clarke said. But since then, about 70% haven’t been paying.
In an effort to address that, the transit agency launched a targeted campaign this week, hoping that officer visibility and efforts will make customers think twice before avoiding the cost.
“We’re not interested in citations,” Clarke said during a briefing with reporters. “We’re not interested in arrests. The less citations and less arrests, that’s success for us. We just want people to pay their fair share.”
Essentially, Clarke said, bus passengers should pay when they get on board. If a passenger doesn’t pay, officers won’t let them on.
The agency is using data to determine where to deploy the officers. They’re focusing on the routes with the highest noncompliance and fare evasion.
They’ve spent a lot of time along Georgia Avenue recently, Clarke said, because it’s the busiest city corridor, carrying over 22,000 people a day on bus routes. But that approach isn’t necessary at stations like the one at the Pentagon, where Clarke said “virtually every person pays on the bus.”
On a traditional day, Metro buses carry about 430,000 people, and the agency runs 1,500 buses during its peak service, Clarke said. He declined to offer the exact number of officers being used for the new bus fare evasion effort, but said, “this isn’t like the entire police department only is now going to do fare enforcement. Fare enforcement is part of a good transit policing DNA.”
In the event a passenger boards a bus without paying, a plain-clothed officer on board will write that person a citation, Clarke said.
Operation Fares Pay for Your Service. @wmata is working hard to have riders pay their fare. It’s only fair to those that already pay. More fares = more, better & safer service. MetroLift 50% reduced fares are available to support our community members that need a hand up. #wmata pic.twitter.com/lyDhCbFJns
— Randy Clarke (@wmataGM) December 5, 2024
This week, almost 500 buses have been checked, and 170 citations have been issued. In D.C. and Maryland, those citations are $50, but are $100 in Virginia. Officers also made eight arrests, but Clarke said those were arrests based on matters unrelated to fare evasion. Most arrests were connected to not complying with an officer or assaulting an officer of staff, he said.
Over 300 people have walked up, seen an officer and then walked away, Clarke said.
In the event a situation on a bus involving fare evasion escalates, Clarke said bus drivers have been advised not to get involved.
A spokesman for ATU Local 689, the union that represents Metro workers, said the union supports efforts to make sure everyone pays, but “too often, our members are put on the frontlines of fare enforcement, resulting in verbal and physical abuse. To be clear: bus operators are not law enforcement and should not be expected to put their safety on the line amidst an upswing of violence towards transit workers.”
The agency, Clarke said, is also installing two pilot buses with full shields to make sure bus operators are safe.
The consequences of fare evasion are significant, Clarke said. If 70% of riders aren’t paying, “that’s almost $50 million plus in fare revenue that we’re short at Metro, and that is just unacceptable,” he said.
“This is collecting fares from customers to deliver the service that they and other members of the community actually need,” Clarke said.
Fare evasion at Metro stations has gone down since higher fare gates have been installed, and Clarke is hoping the increased enforcement on buses has the same effect.
“On the rail side, we’re never getting to zero fare enforcement,” Clarke said. “I get Tweets all the time, ‘Oh, these new gates. I saw someone jump.’ That’s going to happen in life. People speed on the highway, even though there’s a sign and there’s state troopers — people still do that. Our job is to get numbers back to a reasonable number with societal expectations.”
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