A major fare enforcement campaign is about to ramp up on Metrobus. WMATA has been getting tough on fare evasion on the rails for some time now, but the transit agency says it's now turning its attention to its buses.
More than 70% of bus riders aren't paying the fares right now, Metro officials say.
WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke has a direct message to bus riders: Pay the fare.
"We've heard loud and clear from people. It's something that we are working on. So, starting the week after Thanksgiving, we are going to go after the bus system much more significantly," Clarke said.
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Uniformed officers, plainclothes officers, video monitoring, special police and Metro Transit police will all be used in this effort.
Clarke says most of this enforcement will happen without the bus operator getting involved, protecting them from confrontation.
"So we'll take a place — and I use this purely as an example — a place like Silver Spring, where there's a lot of bus bays, or Minnesota Avenue or that type of example. We might have three or four officers but now we might target them with some special police or transportation supervisors, and we'll spread them out at the different bays, and they'll just stand by the door. And basically, if you don't pay, you're not getting on," Clarke said.
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Metro says this whole ramping-up of fare enforcement on buses will be entirely data-driven. That means they will take a look at the Metrobus lines with the highest number of fare evasions and target their resources there. The P12 line in Prince George's County and the X2 line in D.C. are just two of the bus routes being eyed for increased enforcement.
Clarke says asking people to pay $2.25 for the bus is not too much to ask.
"Everyone in the region wants us to run better bus service. If we can generate $5, $10, $20 million more revenue it goes to running more service for the same people that want to use the bus," he said.
Metro recently cracked down on fare evasion on the rails with new taller, tougher faregates. The transit agency says that has caused fare evasion on Metrorail to plummet 82%.
News4 reached out to the union that represents Metro's frontline workers about this new enforcement campaign. They say they support riders paying their share and called it a matter of fairness but said: “Bus operators are not law enforcement and should not be expected to put their safety on the line amidst an upswing of violence towards transit workers."
