lol not only are you willfully misconstruing everything i’m saying you’re also putting words in my mouth. obviously the logical result of someone not being able to afford necessities is not being able to afford other things (like subway fares). of course not everyone who is evading fares is poor, nor is everyone in nyc poor. i never said that. but to ignore the economic elements that impact fare evasion is not only ignorant but stupid. here’s a report on fare evasion statistics:

“Among the five boroughs, residents in the Bronx— the borough with the city’s highest poverty rate— reported the highest levels of transit hardship in 2021: 21 percent said that they often struggled to pay subway and bus fares.”

again, my main point is that the mta’s financial hardships do not derive themselves from its constituents and attacking fare evasion is not the most effective approach for solving these issues.

and rent has gone up at a wildly disproportionate rate, as well as food and utility costs. have you seen what coned is charging lately? have you tried to buy eggs? it’s more expensive to live even if we’re making more money. of course the money has to come from somewhere but this is true of any public service that is provided “for free” (through taxes) to the public. ticketing people who can’t afford $2.75 is not an effective method of revenue and it fundamentally misconstrues the purpose of a public service.

edit because i hit send too fast lol: my overall point is that putting the mta’s budget crisis on its constituents won’t solve the problem and it isn’t really the issue in the first place.

that would probably be more effective than the nypd. low bar to clear though

there’s a pretty easy answer as to why fare evasion has increased since bloomberg, no? the wealth disparity between the rich and poor has vastly increased in the last few years. fewer people can afford the cost of a metrocard swipe so fare evasion increases. public transit is a public service and should be free.

how do you propose we do that? cuomo already hired a bunch of police officers in 2020 for this exact reason and clearly that hasn’t helped. go into the average station and the officers are standing around on their phones or harassing unhoused people. the goal should be moving away from reliance of ticket revenue to keep the mta afloat. public transportation is a public service and should ultimately be free. there are much more effective ways for the mta to address its budgeting problems.