Metro bus drivers registered 5,483,300 passengers who didn’t pay or didn’t pay full fare between 2005 and 2008, according to records from the King County Department of Transportation. It’s impossible gauge exactly how much money the bus service gave away in free rides—as some payments could be made partially—but the amount is likely millions of dollars.
The figures come from a records request filed by a citizen who forwarded the data to the Stranger (and confirmed by Metro). He is appalled that the county may have lost more than $10 million over four years and suggests that Metro should eliminate the ride-free zone downtown, arguing that most riders who board in the zone don’t pay when they get off—even in areas where payment is required.
According to Metro’s most recent analysis, the department will run a $168 million deficit over the next two years, says Metro deputy general manger Jim Jacobson.
But Jacobson says it’s doing all it can to collect fares. Over 400 million riders have taken the bus in the four-year span, and the lack of fares are within reason, he says. “I don’t know how many retail stores operate without people shoplifting one percent out the door.” The department’s primary concern is the safety of the bus driver. He says, “The operators are trained to ask for the fare from each passenger, and if the passenger refuse to pay, they are also trained to manage the situation in a way that won’t put themselves in danger.” Drivers can call in officers for a rider who repeatedly refuses to pay. He also notes that some of the incidents—measured by the number of times a driver presses a “no fare/partial fare” button—can include times a rider simply has an outdated bus pass. “They turn around and buy a pass the next day and you haven’t lost any money really,” he says. Jacobson also sees hope in the ORCA Card (which stands for One Regional Card for All and works in nearby transit systems), which allows riders to add money in bulk so they don’t miss payment for lack of correct change.
While our data-requesting reader seems to be well intentioned in sleuthing for government waste, this doesn’t seem so bad. Metro drivers shouldn’t get shot over a buck-seventy-five. And Metro should be focusing primarily on getting more riders onboard, and drivers should be hitting the accelerator instead of spending commutes haggling over change.
what is gonna happen with light rail which is totally on the honor system?
+ ORCA = WTF
@51: Link is on the honor system? How so?
Presumably the stations will have fences and turnstiles… just like EVERY OTHER RAIL TRANSIT IN THE WORLD.
I am a Metro Transit driver.
Reading over the comments. . .
It is far more likely that drivers will hit the ‘pass’ button on the fare box than the ‘no fare paid’ button on the farebox for quickly flashed passes or for riders who exit the back door in overload situations. The priority is to count the numbe of riders, and to be ACCURATE about the number of fare evaders, especially on ‘problem routes’.
If the count is inaccurate, more than likely the number of bad passes is UNDER reported, not OVER reported, as so many flash a transfer that is folded to conceal that it is the wrong letter/wrong day; a customer deliberately puts their finger over the month sticker to conceal that their pass has expired, or they keep their pass in their wallet (all but a fragment) to prevent the driver from seeing that it is for the wrong month or for off-peak vs. peak fare.
There also seems to be a HUGE number of fraudulent passes out there – either forged or falsesly obtained Reduced Fare Permits. I have seen so many RFP’s used by cyclists and others who appear to have no real disability, and the requirement is that the “8” button (hit when a passenger shows a pass but does not swipe the card) is hit.
The reported numbers are LOW, not artificially HIGH, believe me.
@53: The only person who thinks drivers hit the “no fare” button when someone flashes a pass is Will in Seattle. And if you read the comments here often, that speaks for itself.
@52: It’s a proof-of-payment system. It isn’t the honor system per se, but it is barrier-free and your ticket, pass or ORCA card must be presented if requested by a fare inspector, law enforcement official, etc. If no valid proof is presented, then the rider can be fined.
I thought this was odd, too. I’ve spent quite a bit of time on Chicago’s CTA where I took the Blue Line to work for a few years. I forgot that Salt Lake and Minneapolis have light rail systems with proof-of-payment and I believe Portland’s MAX and Vancouver’s light rail system are the same. Also, Seattle’s own Lake Union Streetcar and the Sounder not to mention most systems in Europe.
@52: It’s a proof-of-payment system. It isn’t the honor system per se, but it is barrier-free and your ticket, pass or ORCA card must be presented if requested by a fare inspector, law enforcement official, etc. If no valid proof is presented, then the rider can be fined.
I thought this was odd, too. I’ve spent quite a bit of time on Chicago’s CTA where I took the Blue Line to work for a few years. I forgot that Salt Lake and Minneapolis have light rail systems with proof-of-payment and I believe Portland’s MAX and Vancouver’s light rail system are the same. Also, Seattle’s own Lake Union Streetcar and the Sounder not to mention most systems in Europe.
@55: Right, my bad. There are many proof of payment systems around, including the commuter rail system in the Chicago area. I had forgotten about the Vancouver Skytrain, but now that you remind me, you’re right, it does operate on that system.
I guess it strikes me as a little dangerous to operate that way, especially since it would be very difficult for conductors to check payment during peak commute times when the trains are (hopefully) packed.
@42
Maybe #53 can clarify this, but I believe you’re mistaken. Payment is required, from everyone, but drivers have the authority to skip the fare in order to speed things up, if the situation calls for it.
More often than not, when I flash my U-PASS the driver doesn’t bother to hit *any* buttons. I suspect ridership in the U District is pretty heavily underreported as a result.
@51: The Sounder is also an honor system. Checks are really rare, but in the cases I’ve seen it looked like everyone in my car had a ticket or pass. It would be interesting to know what the evasion rate is. They do regular counts (much more frequently than ticket checks) so they probably have a good idea.
1: take away the ride free zone. downtown is small enough to WALK from one end to the other. i did it every day this week while temping and it was surprisingly nice. smelly homeless people were nothing but a blip on my radar instead of something i had to suffer through on a hot, crowded bus.
1a: take away the ride free zone but have a shuttle bus that ONLY runs through the ride free zone.
2: make low-income bus passes a viable, regulated option.
59: farebox data is not used to measure ridership; it is measured by another system with sensors on the stairs.
the ride free area probably speeds outbound coaches in downtown Seattle; but it also probably slow inbound coaches away from downtown or outbound coaches going away from downtown. paying away from the central business district may be unique in the transit world. most systems have pay upon entry. Some have proof-of-payment.
in some sense, fare evasion is very difficult to measure. the drivers are quite busy. It is likely under reported.
I have witnessed fare inspection in Vancouver and France.
@19 why dont we sell the buses and invest in light rail/monorail/subway systems instead
…where fares are controlled at access points and machines rather than by a solitary driver on a vehicle with multiple doors?
@6 don’t forget the rebel drivers that just leave the ‘ride free zone’ sign up for the whole trip. I loves them. Tip them cash or coffee cards, everyone.
@9 cute idea, and could work in europe no doubt, but unless the fine were more than the cost of paying an annual pass, many people will skip and just try not to get caught. Building budgets around such a collander of a financial model would be bad for the long term outlook of transit in seattle.
I’d rather budget for the future, as in, write a budget with profit in mind, with a planned surplus: with the plan to add a new train line for the region every five years for the next fifty years. We might just have the infrastructure, transportation wise at least (not utility-wise by any means) to continue to let developers have their way with our queen city.
In the interim: The ride free zone should be expanded: do seattle taxpayers pay more tax than king co / surrounding cities for metro? If so great, if not, make it so: then Seattle City limits are now the ride free zone, the other cities’ residents can pay up with cash or card. Budgets can be sound, the majority of trips less hazardous, AND the city will have the faster or at least, more on-time service. Win win for all but the SOVophiles.
in most other countries i have lived, you don’t have to prove a ticket to ride the train. there are places on the tram/bus to purchase tickets. controllers get on in random places and spot check all passengers – anyone not having a ticket gets to pay a hefty fine on the spot. this would not necessarily increase fares collected, but would significantly reduce loading/unloading time – bus drivers should be driving and not checking everyone’s passes.
@63 – that’s what they do on the new light rail line.
“The Sounder is also an honor system.”
Well that runs from Edmonds, not up the Rainier Valley.
To all you folks who keep talking about ‘Europe’….just spend a day on the Paris Metro and watch all the banlieu scumbags jumping fares.
Curious–what is the Metro policy on who to count? For example, do they count kids (who officially can ride free with an adult, but are not paying)?
By the way, I use the SLUT to get to work at UW SLU and regularly see coworkers on it. All of us have the U-PASS, and I know other employers on the line like Fred Hutch also provide passes. I’ve also helped tourists buy tickets which was pretty amusing. Maybe the employers should have just paid for increased 17 service instead of the streetcar LID, but in any case it’s being used.
@62 “…The ride free zone should be expanded: … make it so: then Seattle City limits are now the ride free zone, the other cities’ residents can pay up with cash or card. Budgets can be sound, the majority of trips less hazardous…”
I like it. More stakeholders implies more feedback for METRO and its planning and decision-making processes; would need to coordinate with Sound Transit’s “vision” of what constitutes “service” in Seattle.
This is Bull$%#! Metro is just looking for a way to bilk people with this ORCA mess. And the drivers do poke their noses into it. Last year I had a dumb ass driver challenge me about my non functioning orca card when there was a Statewide problem with them. I guess his lazy ass couldn’t read the postings drivers are supposed to read before they start their shifts! All the other transit workers knew about it. Maybe he needs a tutor.