[FoxNews] Fare evasion 'directly linked to crime,' NYPD says; experts point to 'Broken Windows' theory.
New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is looking at paying up to $1 million for a psychologist to analyze the motivations of turnstile jumpers, saying that "historic approaches" like increased policing have had "limited success" in reversing record-high losses due to fare evasion.
Of approximately 5 million daily riders on New York City's subways and buses, about 900,000 skirt their fares, according to the MTA; 13.6% of subway riders jump the turnstile or sneak through emergency doors onto the platform, while nearly half of all bus riders skip paying.
The transit thieves may think their nonpayment is just a drop in the bucket, but it all adds up to a projected loss of $700 million this year.
"We have to win or else the system is gone," MTA CEO Janno Lieber said at a recent board meeting. |