MTA’s Pioneering Methodologies to Measure Fare Evasion
The synthesis of traditional surveys and state-of-the-art technology creates a robust blueprint for fare evasion measurement
On May 17, the Blue-Ribbon Panel for Fare Evasion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) issued a report detailing the problem and outlining its two methods for measuring it. According to the most recent data, a concerning pattern has emerged: fare evasion rates increased significantly from pre-pandemic levels of 3 to 6% to 13.5%...
The Challenge of Measuring Fraud in Public Transport
Methods, Limitations and the Assistance of AI
Challenges in Measuring Fare Evasion Fraud in public transportation is a major issue that causes significant financial and operational challenges for public transport operators. However, accurately measuring the extent of fare evasion is a challenging task, as current methods of measuring fare evasion have significant limitations. The good news is that artificial intelligence (AI)...
MWC Attendees Drive Barcelona Metro’s Best February in History
Ridership figures surpass pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the metro's crucial role in city mobility
Barcelona’s metro network has set a new record, registering its best-ever February with over 34.8 million validations, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers. The increase is part of an ongoing upward trend in usage since the beginning of 2022. A contributing factor to this growth is the recovery of visitors to the Mobile World Congress (MWC), prompting...
Brisbane deploys extra officers to tackle fare evasion
Authorities want to reduce a spike in fare infractions and violent incidents in public transport
Annually, billions of euros are lost to fare evasion worldwide. It is a corrosive problem for public transport companies, posing a threat to safety and financial sustainability. Authorities in Brisbane, Australia, are deploying extra public transport safety officers to patrol and monitor fare evasion. The new senior officers will patrol on trains, ferries and...
Full-height fare gates to curb down fare evasion in Rennes, France
The new gates cost €7m and should save Rennes metro €15m over the next 15 years
The city of Rennes, France, will soon be giving away its status as the last city in the country to use an open system for ticketing at the Metro. In a bid to curb down fare evasion, authorities are installing full-height fare gates at all current 16 stations on the city’s STAR network. Fare...
As much as 1m fare evasions per day on Mexico City’s Metro in 2019
Most fare dodgers jump or manipulate the turnstiles, or use fake tickets and cards
As billions of dollars are lost to fare evasion yearly, it remains a major focus for mass transit operators worldwide. In Mexico City, authorities reported a new grim record of 1 million fare evaders per day on the city’s subway (STM) in October 2019. According to STM director Florencia Serranía, on the last day...
4x more fare evasion on Dutch buses during Covid-19
Offenders took advantage of back-door bus boarding and reduced fare inspections to avoid paying
The Covid-19 outbreak imposes a new set of sanitary rules to prevent the spread of the virus infection. For public transport users, this basically resumes to social distancing, and wearing face masks. Public transport companies also took extra preventive measures such as back-door bus boarding, and vehicle and station disinfection. Unfortunately some travellers see...
Ticket inspections resume on Stockholm’s public transport
The controls must now take into account Covid-19 safety measures
After a two-and-a-half-month break during the coronavirus outbreak, Stockholm’s public transport operator SL is resuming ticket controls. As of mid-June, ticket inspectors are running regular controls on the subway. Since June 29, they are also checking tickets on buses and trams. For controls on buses, inspectors are checking tickets when travellers disembark. The inspectors...
The role of AI Video Analytics for reducing fare evasion in public transport
Transport managers can draw more value from their video surveillance networks by employing intelligent Video Analytics using AI
Making better use of existing video networks Overcoming the challenge of manually analysing video feeds from security cameras is one of the biggest tasks for companies that use video surveillance on their premises. Security agents have to spend many hours checking multiple computer screens, and oftentimes there are not sufficient agents to review all...
Fare evasion impact in Washington D.C.
Recent system upgrades aim to provide more accurate ridership data to measure and prevent rising fare evasion rates
Fare evasion is a global issue causing losses of billions of euros. Washington D.C. ranks third in the US for the financial impact caused by fare evasion, after Massachusetts’ Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). In 2019, fare evasion losses on buses amounted to €24.4m ($29m), and €9.2m ($11m)...
Trainsfare is an initiative aimed to raise awareness about the global issue of fare evasion in public transport.
We publish articles regularly on the topics of fare evasion, ticketing, public transport finance, technology, and safety and security. Our articles are sourced from mass transit operators and from trusted news sources and publications.
Trainsfare is a project managed by Awaait, a Barcelona-based company developing AI Video Analytics software.