Fare evasion is a seemingly never-ending problem for transit agencies.
A recent comment published by Transport for London stated that fare evasion costs their service more than 130 million pounds on an annual basis. In New York, the numbers are even worse: when the MTA conducted a blue-ribbon study in 2022, it found that fare evasion cost the service nearly $700 million.
Photo Credit: Dean Moses
Challenges to Managing Fare Evasion
Transit agencies can’t afford to ignore the fare evasion problem: recovering that revenue would allow agencies to invest in improving their service, leading to a better experience and more paying customers. Historic approaches to fare evasion have generally focused on two areas: strengthening physical environments and increasing enforcement.
This focus on hardening stations and increasing penalties hasn’t delivered adequate results. Fare evasion numbers haven’t declined in stations with larger, more imposing gates — the environment has simply become more unfriendly and unwelcoming to customers. Other transit environments, such as outdoor train platforms, may not be conducive to gating at all. And while agencies may want to penalize riders caught evading, some agencies need to involve law enforcement to issue citations, and some aren’t able to issue citations at all.
As agencies find enforcement both expensive and ineffective, they’re willing to look for new strategies that are less “us vs. them” and focused more on building constructive relationships with their customers. The reasons why customers evade fares are varied and complex — shouldn’t our approaches to addressing fare evasion be equally varied?
Let’s look at some of the main reasons why people evade fares and the options we have to address them.
Understanding Fare Evasion
Most fare evaders are not criminal masterminds, committed to stealing from the transit agency by any means necessary.
In fact, many fare evaders fit into a few of the key fare evasion categories:
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Accidental:
The passenger purchases the incorrect fare or misuses the ticket equipment. This isn’t nefarious evasion; in some cases, the number and complexity of fare products on a transit system can be difficult to understand. However, this accidental evasion still contributes to losses for the system.
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Determined:
This is likely what most people think of when they think of fare evasion. From jumping over gates to piggybacking behind paying riders to ducking under barriers, these fare evaders are clearly and deliberately stealing from the agency. Some passengers may view determined evasion as an act of rebellion — striking back against a system they believe doesn’t work for them. Determined fare evasion can also be more nuanced: a rider may deliberately purchase an incorrect, cheaper fare, or tap off the vehicle earlier than their actual departure.
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Economically stressed:
What do you do if you rely on transit to get to work, but you can’t afford the full fare for your journey? These fare evaders are stuck between a rock and a hard place; transit systems with rigid fare structures or difficult to access entitlement programs may be causing some people to evade fares who would otherwise be willing and able to pay a slightly reduced rate.
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Intentional:
This type of fare evasion goes beyond “Determined” due to the level of planning involved. Intentional fare evaders will commit some sort of fraud — for example, counterfeiting tickets — in order to avoid paying for transportation.
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Opportunistic:
These fare dodgers are those who take advantage of situations where there are no perceived consequences. For example, a gate for disabled riders may be open, or there may be no enforcement visible at the station. Opportunistic riders may also be traveling a short distance, gambling on the chance that they won’t encounter a ticket inspector on their journey. Opportunistic fare evaders don’t evade every time they use the service — only when they think they can safely take the risk. Unfortunately, opportunistic fare evasion can be contagious: if someone sees the person in front of them do it, they may use the same strategy, and this can lead to a negative domino effect for the transit service.
While the outcome of fare evasion is always the same for the transit agency, the reality is that solving these different types of evasion requires different approaches. Agencies can more effectively reduce non-payment more effectively by introducing a combination of engagement, enforcement, and new payment technologies.
New Approaches to Reducing Fare Evasion
To truly tackle fare evasion over the long term, transit agencies should focus on five key areas:
Reducing Payment Friction
Complex fare structures are a major cause of accidental non-payment, particularly for tourists or infrequent travelers. In Cubic’s customer experience research, we found that opportunistic fare evaders often realized they didn’t have the funds or payment method they needed — rather than missing a service while waiting to replenish their account, they took the risk of riding without paying.
People like to use things that are simple and easy – making a decision about which ticket is right for you, isn’t always as intuitive as we would like it to be. Contactless payments a simple, sustainable solution for reducing payment friction. Open-loop systems allow customers to pay with their contactless payment cards and mobile devices, removing the need for a dedicated transit account. With fare capping and best-fare policy, the system automatically calculates and applies the best fare for each passenger’s trip. Best-fare policies build trust among riders and increase inclusivity for those who benefit from reduced fares. Open-loop systems also allow agencies to reduce paper tickets, minimizing the potential for fraud and counterfeiting.
For agencies that don’t have open payments, closed-loop payment cards can also deliver fare capping and travel rewards, while eliminating the need for passengers to choose a specific ticket type. Closed-loop payments require riders to load value prior to their journey - but agencies can address this by increasing the ways in which passengers can replenish their account. Transit agencies can offer auto-top up and top up reminders, as well as web and mobile based self-service account management tools to help riders add value to their card. They can also expand their retailer networks to offer customers more locations to top up their accounts, as well as increasing the number of station staff and ticket vending equipment.
Toronto Transit Commission Ad Campaign
Education and Engagement
Do opportunistic and accidental fare evaders understand what non-payment means to their transit service? Dedicated information campaigns can help local communities understand the importance of fare payment and how fares are reinvested in the system. Transit passengers are often frustrated by infrequent, unreliable service — increased fare payment rates allow systems to address those issues.
Transit agencies can also create and promote customer feedback mechanisms, allowing passengers to engage with the transit system and have a hand in improving service. By increasing community engagement, passengers will feel more invested in the success of the system — and less likely to take advantage of a fare evasion opportunity.
Increasing Transit Equity
Vulnerable populations shouldn’t be forced to fare evade in order to ride their local transportation system. By expanding fare programs like Clipper START, agencies can increase transit equity while also collecting some level of revenue from riders who can’t afford the full fare. When agencies make it easy to access concessions and entitlements, everyone benefits — customers are able to find the right fare for their situation, and the system reduces evasion from those who would be happy to pay a fare they can afford.
Customers shouldn’t have to work hard to discover the right fare program — these options should be displayed prominently in stations and marketed regularly to the community. Agencies like NY MTA are having great success using online tools like chatbots to help riders find relevant concessions, verify their identities, and sign up for the best program. These tools remove barriers including turning up to a physical location, or mailing in identification that were previously required to access and verify benefit entitlements.
Data and Analytics
Modern fare gates can now come equipped with cameras and high-tech sensor arrays that collect data, helping agencies refine profiles of fare evaders and understand the most common causes of evasion on their system. No two communities are alike — some agencies may see more instances of accidental evasion, while others may be dealing with determined approaches like tapping off the system too early.
With the help of AI and machine learning, this data can help identify patterns and inform enforcement strategies. Agencies can increase staffing at stations with particularly high levels of opportunistic evasion, or they can even use electronic payment data to identify and warn repeat offenders. Transit agencies can also analyze fare collection data to identify vulnerable populations that may not be addressed yet by current fare programs, using that information to adjust concessions accordingly.
Data and analytics aren’t just a tool for catching fare evaders; agencies can also use customer relationship management (CRM) tools to organize their customer data and tailor outreach campaigns. These personalized relationships help to build customer loyalty.
Strengthening the Station — Within Reason
Some riders will be determined to evade regardless of what fare options are available to them or how often they see the agency’s informational campaigns. Agencies should look for ways to improve their physical barriers, evaluating everything from paddle height to the strength of the gate itself. These adjustments can cause incremental reductions in fare evasions by making it more difficult to jump over or duck under the gate. They should also evaluate the indicators they give riders, assessing audio and visual alerts.
However, agencies should be careful to avoid hardening the station environment too much. Public transit stations should be pleasant and customer-friendly to increase the likelihood that paying customers choose to return. A fully hardened station may work to eliminate determined and opportunistic fare evasion — but it may also cause paying customers to avoid going through a grim transit experience.
There is no silver bullet to eliminate fare evasion. But the losses experienced by services like the MTA and Transport for London demonstrate that enforcement alone won’t solve the problem. Transit agencies need to embrace a multi-faceted, empathetic approach to addressing fare evasion — one that enhances the customer experience while capturing more revenue in the process.