Subway fare hikes in Santiago, Chile turn deadly
A small group of students started the protests which quickly grew in amplitude leading to several deaths

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A recent announcement of a price increase by 4% (to 830 pesos, or over $1) for tickets on Santiago Metro‘s network has sparked a series of violent demonstrations at subway premises and in other locations in Chile’s capital. Protesters smashed glass, damaged gate turnstiles, burned busses and subway cars, and attacked police vehicles during the...

Crackdown on fare dodgers in Genoa, Italy
2.876 passengers were checked and 110 fines were issued in an operation which involved 22 ticket inspectors and local police agents

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In its efforts to fight fare evasion, Genoa’s public transport company ATM conducted another major ticket inspection operation on its network on Thursday 3rd October 2019. The operation involved 22 ticket inspector officers who were accompanied by local police agents. In total, 2,876 passengers on 231 buses were checked, of which 110 (3,8%) were convicted...

Germany considers decriminalising fare dodging in public transport
Currently fare evasion might cost you a fine of 60 euros or jail time up to one year, although prison sentences are rare

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Following a debate which we’ve written about earlier in January 2019, the state governments of Berlin and Thuringia have now submitted bills to downgrade the status of fare dodging in public transport from a criminal to a regulatory offence. Both governments argue that the current law of criminal prosecution does not offer a viable...

Spike in public transport fare evasion at Hong Kong’s MTR amid protests
Protesters are unhappy with MTR's decision to close some of its key stations and services in August 2019

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In the light of the recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong, more passengers using MTR‘s public transport services have been found to be jumping over access gates and traveling without valid tickets. In August 2019, MTR (Mass Transit Railway Corporation) shut several stations and services in protest-hit areas arguing that this would help reduce...

Extra measures to fight fare dodging on Rome’s ATAC public transport network in 2019
In the first 7 months of 2019, 36% more passengers were checked and 42% more fines were issued, compared to the same period in 2018

Rome's fare evasion crackdown

With four million trips taken daily on Rome’s ATAC network, the public transport operator is taking extra measures to ensure that its revenue is not affected by fare evasion. In the first 7 months of 2019, 2 million 200 thousand passengers were checked (36% more than the same period in 2018), and 134 thousand...

Transport for New South Wales takes tougher measures to reduce fare evasion
Since the implementation of the Opal Card in 2012 fare evasion has been in decline but it still cost taxpayers $83m in 2018

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Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) released new fare evasion figures. Reports show that the highest fare evasion rate has been on the Hunter line – at 13.6% over one year, equaling to revenue losses of about $351.000. TfNSW issued $1.4m in fines on this line from June 2018 to May 2018. In total,...

Metrolinx to save 3.75M by tackling fare evasion in 2019-2020
Fare evasion is lower in Canada compared to other parts of the world but a recent report indicates 15M loss yearly

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Ontario’s Regional Transportation Agency Metrolinx has recently reported that it aims to save as much as 3.75M in 2019-2020 by taking a stricter stance on fare evasion on its network. This would amount to about 25% reduction in fraudulent incidents. As cited by the agency, most of the incidents happen on the Go Transit system...

TTC lost $61M to fare evasion in 2018
Auditors general’s report shows fare evasion costed three times more than the Canadian agency previously said and proposes 27 recommendations to fix the situation

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Toronto Transit Commission’s prolonged fare evasion issue does not seem to improve. In 2018, TTC lost $61M to fare evasion, according to Toronto’s auditor general report. This figure implies 5.4% of total passengers skipped the fare. It also triples the estimate the agency has consistently defended over time. The bus is the public transport...

Fare evasion prosecutions fall 96% in New York
Despite the decrease in arrests, fare evasion is still high and costed MTA $215 million in 2018

Fare evasion prosecutions fall at MTA

In February 2018, New York’s District Attorney Office introduced a new policy which decriminalized fare evasion by shifting from court citations to administrative fines. The objective was to “reduce inequality and unnecessary incarceration” for skipping a fare of $2.75 at Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA). A year later, statistics show a drop of 96% fare...