Public Transport Archives - Page 8 of 11

February 12, 2019 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

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...

February 5, 2019 Fare Evasion, Safety & Security

Rise in victims for fare evading in Bogotá
During 2018, 13 people died trying to skip the fare at TransMilenio

Fare evasion in TransMilenio caused 13 victims in 2018

Fare evasion is not only a matter of public transport economic sustainability, but also of safety and security. In some networks, skipping the fare can be a very dangerous act and can even cause victims. This is the case of the public bus system TransMilenio in Bogotá, where fare dodgers climb the walls and...

January 29, 2019 Ticketing

Unlimited electronic tickets at Beijing subway
The Chinese metro system rolls out passes that allow passengers to travel as many times as they want within fixed time periods

Beijing subway has made available five additional unlimited electronic tickets on its subway network, which will be usable on all lines except for the airport shuttle. With these tickets, passengers can now change lines as often as they want within a fixed time period. Tickets will be available for one, two, three, five or...

January 22, 2019 Fare Evasion

More transit inspection to combat fare evasion at TTC
The transport agency also suggests a 10% fare hike to meet capital needs and sustain operations

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is estimated to lose $50 million annually to fare evasion. An internal report made public a year ago suggested that the fare evasion rate was 4.4% instead of the official 2% figure. It also stated that a 2% reduction of this rate would save the agency more than $29 million...

January 15, 2019 Fare Evasion

Punishment-free fare evasion in Berlin?
Investigation and punishment of fare evasion is “a waste of resources” according to the city’s Attorney-General

Decriminalizing fare evasion in public transport is becoming a tendency. Many cities in the United States have recently moved from court citations to administrative fines to speed up the judicial process. Now, Berlin suggests switching to a fully punishment-free system. Currently, fare evasion is a crime with potentially significant consequences such as large fines...

January 8, 2019 Fare Evasion

Technology upgrade to solve Opal card loophole at Sydney Airport
As of January 7th, 2019 passengers traveling to the airport station must top up their cards to a minimum $35 before boarding the trains

New technology to erase Opal loophole at Sydney Airport

Australia’s Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) has announced that all passengers travelling to and from Sydney’s Airport station are required to top up their Opal cards to a minimum $35 as of January 7, 2019. This solution is to prevent revenue losses caused by a loophole which allowed passengers to travel with negative...

December 18, 2018 Fare Evasion

MTA loses $215 million to fare evasion
Some people blame the new policy that stops the prosecuting fare dodgers, others the fall in ridership due to the system’s failures

The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) in New York expects to lose $215 million to fare evasion in 2018. This is double the amount lost in 2015. The transport agency estimates fare dodgers in buses cost $119 million. People who jump the turnstiles amount to $96 million loses. According to MTA officials, paying bus ridership...

December 11, 2018 Public Transport

Luxembourg, the first country to have free public transport?
The governments seeks to reduce traffic congestion and preserve the environment

Free public transport is slowly becoming a reality worldwide. Many municipalities offer zero-fare routes and the measure is expanding to bigger cities. Tallin offers free public transport since 2013, except for the train. This March, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, announced the launch of a study mission on the possibility of no fares...

December 4, 2018 Public Transport

Annual pass reduces ticketless passengers in Prague
The ticket fine reprieve Nejedeš načerno? turns 4500 fare-dodgers into annual public transport pass holders

Last October, Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) implemented an innovative ticket fine reprieve called “Nejedeš načerno?”(Not black riding, are you?). When caught travelling without a valid ticket, fare-dodgers can reduce the fine by half by buying an annual public transport pass. Since then, more than 4,500 people have turned from ticketless passengers to annual...

November 27, 2018 Public Transport

Brussels Metro installs double validation system to reduce fare evasion
From now on passengers will have to validate tickets both when entering and when exiting stations

Travellers on Brussels Metro must now validate their tickets both at entry and at exit points at stations, similar to the city’s Premetro system. Starting this month, Brussels’ public transport operator STIB-MIVB installed new gates at one station, with 15 more stations planned to be ready by the end of 2018. The Metro a...