Metro to use police and video to catch fare evaders on buses

Metro plans to crack down on people who take the bus but don’t pay.

"Starting the week after Thanksgiving, we are going to go after the bus system much more significantly with a data-driven, targeted approach on bus fare evasion," WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said at a board meeting Thursday, noting that the enforcement effort will focus on bus lines with the lowest fare compliance.

Officials previously said that nearly 70 percent of bus riders do not pay their fare.

"Our campaign is pretty simple: your fares pay for service," Clarke added. "Because that’s what it does."

Metro has already cracked down on rail fare evasion by both increasing enforcement and installing higher fare gates that are more difficult to get through without paying. 

While FOX 5 cameras have been rolling, some riders have still managed to hop over – or push their way through – the new gates. Clarke said that rail fare evasion is down 82 percent.

Thursday evening, some bus riders said they think the bus fare crackdown is a good idea.

"I think it’s appropriate that people pay for a service," Hope Zoss explained. 

Others felt differently.

"I think that people trying to avoid bus fare is just them expressing that the system for transportation in D.C. is too expensive for them," said Aims Cruz.

Clarke explained the bus fare enforcement effort will incorporate both police and video. 

He also said that Metro offers subsidy programs for riders who are unable to pay their fares.