Recent efforts have done little to stop people from evading fares, but the MBTA is trying to make sure riders pay.
The methods vary. Some use the mad dash. Others tailgate behind other passengers. Brute force is also common. The goal is the same though — to avoid paying for a ride on the MBTA.
Fare evasion is particularly bad at the Back Bay Orange Line station. On Thursday, riders were undeterred by our cameras and an MBTA ambassador assigned to the area to try and deter such behavior.
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"You would have to be blind not to see it," rider Kerry Campbell said.
"It looks like they are cheating you, they are getting cheated by people going in free and you are not," said rider Robert Rougemont.
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The MBTA told NBC10 Boston it doesn't have any figures on how much revenue it loses by fare evaders, but General Manager Phillip Eng says he is aware of the issue.
"Fare evasion is not just a T issue, it has been in every system that I have been in," Eng said.
More on the MBTA
After a year of not enforcing fare rules, The MBTA Board empowered Transit Police to start issuing citations again in February 2022. Fines range from $50 to $150. However, while we were at Back Bay station on Thursday, Transit Police were patrolling, but didn't appear to be focused on those seeking a free ride.
"There have been efforts to minimize fare evasion in areas where perhaps we are not collecting the fares that we should, but we need to build on those and that is a longer-term strategy," Eng said.
Charles Chieppo of the Pioneer Institute would like to see the MBTA, which has long faced a cash crunch, be more proactive.
"Fare evasion is a big problem, and unfortunately, it is one that does not appear like it is going to be going away," said Chieppo. "The things that you have to do to make it go away are expensive, and sometimes unpopular."
Until then, those who pay their fare say it is unfair that some continue to get a free ride.
"They are not getting in for free, they people who is paying for it," Campbell said. "It is us."
