Fare Evasion Faces New Penalties in D.C.
D.C.'s Legislative Response to Protect Public Transit and Its Users

©ElevenPhotographs / Unsplash

In response to rising concerns over fare evasion, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has welcomed the Secure D.C. Crime Bill, enabling Metro Transit Police to enforce stricter measures. Effective immediately, individuals caught evading fares must provide their identity, with non-compliance resulting in arrest or a $100 fine. The legislation also escalates penalties for...

Addressing Fare Evasion on Irish Rail
Insights and Strategies from the National Transport Authority's Study

© Ellie Enchantée / Unsplash

  A recent study by the Irish National Transport Authority (NTA) has unveiled a 6% fare evasion rate on Iarnród Éireann rail services, the national operation from Ireland, leading to an estimated annual revenue loss of €12.3 million. The study, encompassing nearly 21,000 passengers from January 2022 to March 2023, has been crucial in...

Nice Reactivated Fare Gates and Boosted Staffing to Combat Fare Evasion
Lignes d’Azur implemented a comprehensive plan to counteract an annual loss of 5 million euros due to fare fraud.

Niza tram © AWAAIT

The fare gates at Nice’s underground tramway stations have been reactivated after being previously disabled for the COVID-19 crisis due to safety concerns about passenger proximity. Last month, Gal Nofri, the president of Lignes d’Azur, announced this as one of several initiatives to combat fare evasion. This fraud reportedly results in an annual loss...

Fare Dodging in Amsterdam: A Troubling Rise
Amsterdam's GVB reports a 50% increase in fare evasion since the pandemic, launching a campaign to tackle the issue.

Amsterdam tram © Rico Schwab / Unsplash

Since the start of the pandemic in 2019, fare evasion on Amsterdam’s public transportation has increased by 50%, reports the city’s transportation provider, GVB. In 2022, 4.5% of passengers on trams without conductors were found riding without tickets; similar increases were seen on metros, buses, and trams with conductors.  The problem, according to the...

NYC Subway Measures Fare Evasion Using AI
MTA chooses AWAAIT's AI-technology for subway fare evasion monitoring

NYC Turnstiles © Asael Peña / Unsplash

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates New York City’s subway, has started employing artificial intelligence (AI) to combat the growing issue of fare evasion, a problem that costs the city hundreds of millions each year.  The AI surveillance software, created by the Barcelona-based company AWAAIT, has been in use in seven subway stations...

MTR’s Response to Fare Evasion: Increased Penalties and Inspections
Over 600 Cases Identified in a Week, Including Misuse of the Government's Discount

20230714_TF_MTR_MeasuresFareEavsion Midjourney image promped by AWAAIT

In Hong Kong, A citywide campaign against fare evasion has been started by the MTR Corporation in coordination with the Transport Department. Between June 25 and July 3, they reported 671 occurrences of ticket evasion, 89 of which involved the abuse of the government’s $2 travel discount program.  To reduce fare evasion, the MTR...

MTA’s New Approach to Fare Evasion: A Focus on Education, Equity, Environment, and Enforcement
The Four E's of MTA's Anti-Fare Evasion Strategy Unveiled in the Blue-Ribbon Panel's Inaugural Report

MTA's Anti-Fare Evasion Strategy NYC subway Midjourney image promped by AWAAIT

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Blue-Ribbon Panel on Fare Evasion released its first report, outlining a number of proposed improvements, during a press conference on May 17th. The report was intended to address the growing issue of fare evasion. The report notably devotes four pages (55–64) to discussing four areas where the MTA intends...

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

Mearuring fare evasion in Public Transport Midjourney image promped by AWAAIT

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

The Challenge of Measuring Fraud in Public Transport, Transit, Fare Evasion, AI, video analytics Midjourney image prompted by AWAAIT

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)...

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

Riders on Washington DC subway

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)...