Don’t remember reading anything about any such initiative, but my god has Sound Transit bumped up the number of fare inspectors on Link Light Rail. I thought maybe it was just freakish coincidence when I got my Orca card scanned six trips in a row a couple weeks ago, but this fare enforcement surge has continued. In fact, this morning, fare inspectors boarded my car twice: at both Othello and SODO stations. Never had that happen to me before.
Is it just me, or has there been some sort of quiet but radical shift in Sound Transit’s fare enforcement policies? And is the extra manpower really worth the cost?
Another thing to note is that the penalties on ST are way, way, higher than equivalent penalties on SF MTA, BART, DC or NYC Metro, etc. To say nothing of commuter rail where it’s just a couple extra bucks. I don’t really know why that is.
Gotta make up that money somewhere, can’t raise taxes especially on rich people who don’t take public transit, and this way, more humans have jobs right?
I have seen more also. I am generally in favor of this. Seems like behavior on Link is much better than Metro Buses.
Why not convert Metro buses to this kind of fare system? I guess every bus would be more like the RapidRides.
ST dialed down the fare inspecting after the King County Sheriff shot the fare evader at SODO last summer … I think we just got used to the lack of fare inspection
Funny, I was thinking just the opposite because I never see any fare inspectors when I ride. Got checked last Thursday for the first time in many, many months.
Something to keep in mind, please note that the fines assessed for non-fare payment do not go to Sound Transit, but to the courts.
I ride Metro buses daily but the Link no more than monthly.
I dread my first interaction with Sound Transit fare enforcement staff. I use a monthly-pass ORCA card, so I have no proof of payment (e.g., canceled ticket, receipt for time-limited purchase, etc.) when riding the Link. I don’t like the idea of being investigated for fare evasion when there’s no reason to suspect me of such. I don’t like the idea of handing over my otherwise-anonymous ORCA card, with its record of my travels, to someone who will scan it for arbitrary data in a way that I cannot examine.
I expect that I will either refuse to speak with people in uniforms who demand that I prove my innocence, or calmly tell them that I’m in compliance with all laws and transit rules and that I was not provided with any receipt upon arranging for carriage. Either way, I expect that they will escalate to an uncomfortable situation.
I much prefer the model where people are allowed onto public transit cars or into the boarding area only upon demonstrating to a human or automated turnstile that fare has been paid. Sound Transit’s “honor system” results in the opportunity for staff to treat a significant proportion of transit riders as potential criminals.
@7, there’s a few RFID reader aps for your orca card.
The one I’ve used for Android is FareBot
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codebutler.farebot
@7
Tin foil hats are not allowed on ST or Metro transit busses.