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I wonder how much money Muni wasted to print and paste the "STOP"
stickers on the rear doors of buses, metro cars and trolleys. In
Boston, the metro cars' rear doors stay closed when the vehicles are on
the street. In Seattle, rides within downtown are free.<br>
<br>
<br>
David Fairley wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:op.u2uxflf3bk5upt@d8pvm4c1" type="cite">What's
striking to me is the total failure on the part of the City's movers
and shakers to connect Muni with larger societal interests.
Transportation accounts for roughly 50% of the Bay Area's greenhouse
gas emissions. Expanding the number of people taking public transit is
an essential piece of the solution. Yet every action by SF's powers
that be is aimed at discouraging ridership: higher fares, reduced
service, and now punitive inspections and enforcement. Whoever rides
the bus is, at least, not committing the crime of driving a personal
auto: not using up irreplacable resources, not emitting GHGs, and not
congesting the streets making sane transit impossible.
<br>
<br>
Even before the awareness of global warming, San Francisco had a
"transit first" policy. It's still SF policy as far as I'm aware, but
in hypocrisy so typical of the City, it is honored in the breach.
<br>
<br>
It would be great if the Green Party could expose the City's rulers for
the small-minded hypocrites they are.
<br>
<br>
David
<br>
<br>
On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:05:04 -0800, Eric Brooks
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:brookse32@aim.com"><brookse32@aim.com></a> wrote:
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">Hi all,
<br>
<br>
I just got through watching today's Municipal Transportation Agency
commission hearing in which the MTA staff announced the release of its
fare evasion study.
<br>
<br>
The study shows the following key results:
<br>
<br>
1) The fare evasion rate is only 9.5% (costing the system about $22
million at most).
<br>
<br>
2) Even when MTA fare inspectors and SF Police engaged in highly
focused and expensive 'saturation' enforcement actions at specific
transit access points, the evasion rate was only lowered to about 4% (a
60% reduction)
<br>
<br>
3) Fines for fare evasion are now $75 - The previous, much higher fines
for second and third offenses have been abandoned due to the difficulty
of establishing prior evasions when writing a ticket.
<br>
<br>
4) People cited with fines only pay them 60% of the time. (A police
chief describing the saturation actions, and MTA chief Nathaniel Ford,
both admitted openly that these saturation actions do not pay for
themselves in fine and fare revenues.)
<br>
<br>
5) The transit lines that experience the highest rates of fare evasion,
also have some of the highest rates of low income and people of color
ridership. MTA staff recommended enforcement at targeted locations to
make enforcement more efficient. (This would absolutely result in
biased racist and classist enforcement.)
<br>
<br>
6) 50% of riders boarding at back do not have proof of purchase.
(Anyone who has ridden the bus frequently, knows that many of the
people who board at the back without paying are doing so because they
are too poor to pay the fare.)
<br>
<br>
What all of these revelations show is that the revenue from punitively
deploying fare inspectors and police enforcement will never exceed the
actual cost of deploying the inspectors and police in the first place.
<br>
<br>
The only way to achieve better results with this punitive model would
be to -reduce- the number of inspectors and then more selectively
target lines and transit stops on which the poorest riders and people
of color access the system.
<br>
<br>
On the other hand, simply enabling most riders who -can- pay, to much
more easily buy fast passes and multi-month passes would likely bring
in just as much revenue if not more, without paying any fare inspectors
at all.
<br>
<br>
And of course, -free- Muni, paid for with business and car taxes would
solve the problem entirely.
<br>
<br>
Finally, on an ominous note. MTA staff indicated that they will soon
move to the Translink system for Muni passes. Translink is the system
in which you carry an electronic card charged with funds for Muni
riding (much like a phone card).
<br>
<br>
Once this Translink system is put in place, poor people are going to
have a much harder time circumventing the system so that they can ride
free...
<br>
<br>
It's been a while since we had a Transpo working group meeting. Let's
do one soon to develop a response strategy based on this report.
<br>
<br>
<br>
peace
<br>
<br>
Eric B
<br>
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<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
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