NYC Turnstile Jumpers, Bus-Fare Cheats Cost MTA $215 Million
- Manhattan DA’s failure to prosecute is a cause, Byford says
- The agency projects a deficit close to $1 billion by 2022
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Fare evaders on New York’s buses and subways are costing the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority $215 million this year, a spike that transit officials say stems in part from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s announcement that he’ll end criminal charges against offenders.
“There is a correlation between that announcement being made and the decline” in fare collections, said Andy Byford, president of the New York Transit Authority, the MTA division that operates subways and buses. “The assumption is it’s always poor people. Quite often you find people who are well off and could have paid the fare.”