SEPTA launches enforcement blitz to crack down on fare evaders in Philadelphia
As SEPTA faces a funding crisis, one of the transit agency's top losses continues to be fare evasion.
Pay your fare or pay a fine of up to $300 — that's the new message SEPTA is sending to riders in an effort to crack down on the high rate of fare evaders getting through the system.
"Some have unfortunately gotten in the habit of not paying," Andrew Busch, a spokesperson for SEPTA, said. "They're either getting around the turnstiles."
At Cecil B. Moore Station in North Philadelphia, person by person blatantly barged through a broken ADA gate on Monday evening.
Busch said riders skipping out on paying the $2.50 fare costs the transit authority millions each year.
It's not only a financial burden on SEPTA, but it also places an unfair load on paying riders like Donatta Booker, who do their part every day.
"There was a time when people wouldn't think to get on the bus and not pay," Booker said. "I believe it's disrespectful to those of us who work hard and have to get to and from work."
However, SEPTA may have found a solution that's already showing early success in reducing some of the loss.
Since launching its enforcement blitz last week and deploying officers to Huntingdon Station in Kensington, Busch said SEPTA has seen a 200% increase in sales at that station alone.
"Nobody tried to evade the fairs while our officers were there," Busch said. "Instead, they engaged in conversations."
Each week, the blitz will go to a different station on the Market-Frankford, Broad Street, Regional Rail and trolley lines. That means riders will see officers on duty from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. over the next few months.
"The goal is to make sure that people are paying," Busch said.
Although the price to ride has substantially gone up over Booker's lifetime, she respects the fact that it's a fair exchange.
"If I need to get to where I'm going, I have to pay," she said. "If I had a car, I would have to gas it."
