)*%*( Fare Cheaters on the B54 bus

queencallipygos

So I've only been in the neighborhood for a couple weeks now, and have noticed something that's going to be pissing me off royally the longer I'm here.

I take the B54 as part of my commute every morning, and at nearly every stop, at least one person gets on the back way and rides for free. At my own stop, as many as FIFTEEN people got on the back way.

My roommate and I were chatting on the bus about that one morning, and a guy listening in overheard -- he also was mad about it. My roommate said she's spoken up to them in the past, and a lot of them are people who don't think it matters because they have an unlimited card. But the problem, she explained, is that that's how the MTA knows how many people ride the bus -- so if they don't know that 50 people are in there every morning, if all they know is 30 people take the bus, that's when they cut service.

What can we do to get a transit cop on the corners or something? Can I complain to someone about getting the drivers to enforce the fares? What do you do about this? Can we get some kind of grass-roots movement going where the riders shame the fare cheats into getting on and paying their fare rather than sneaking in the back and taking all the seats? Any thoughts?

alafairnadia

Subject: Re: &)*%&*( Fare Cheaters on the B54 bus

queencallipygos wrote: So I've only been in the neighborhood for a couple weeks now, and have noticed something that's going to be pissing me off royally the longer I'm here.

I take the B54 as part of my commute every morning, and at nearly every stop, at least one person gets on the back way and rides for free. At my own stop, as many as FIFTEEN people got on the back way.

My roommate and I were chatting on the bus about that one morning, and a guy listening in overheard -- he also was mad about it. My roommate said she's spoken up to them in the past, and a lot of them are people who don't think it matters because they have an unlimited card. But the problem, she explained, is that that's how the MTA knows how many people ride the bus -- so if they don't know that 50 people are in there every morning, if all they know is 30 people take the bus, that's when they cut service.

What can we do to get a transit cop on the corners or something? Can I complain to someone about getting the drivers to enforce the fares? What do you do about this? Can we get some kind of grass-roots movement going where the riders shame the fare cheats into getting on and paying their fare rather than sneaking in the back and taking all the seats? Any thoughts?

complain to the MTA - the bus drivers are supposed to make sure people pay the fares. and yes, maybe some of those folks have unlimited cards, but I bet they all don't - make it clear to the MTA that they're losing money by not enforcing their rules.

if you can find a sympathetic ear, they may give you a number to call next time you see it happening - that way they can pinpoint the driver, the bus, etc, and send an mta cop to come deal with it.