Metro police will crack down on fare evasion in the District starting Monday, issuing fines of up to $100 or arresting people who refuse to pay for rides.
Beginning Monday, Metro will require people who are stopped for fare evasion to provide their ID or name and address so officers can issue civil citations that carry fines up to $50. If they refuse to do so, they can be arrested and face a fine of up to $100.
Metro will also increase fines and jail time for assaulting bus and rail operators and other Metro workers in D.C.
The changes follow the D.C. Council’s March 5 passage of Secure D.C., a public safety package that imposes harsher punishments for crimes including illegal gun possession, retail theft and fare evasion on public transit. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) signed the bill Monday. Parts of the bill have gone into effect on an emergency basis, allowing Metro to begin its crackdown before the bill’s congressional review period expires.
There will not be any change in penalties for fare evasion in Maryland and Virginia, where it’s already a criminal violation that carries a fine of up to $100.
A Metro spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the bill would “help make Metro safer.”
The legislation marked an inflection point for traditionally liberal D.C. as it reckons with increases in homicides, carjacking and other crimes. Metro hasn’t been spared, with shootouts and other violence spreading on trains and buses.
Fare evasion has resulted in about a third of Metrobus trips and 13 percent of Metrorail trips going unpaid, according to a Metro analysis last year, and costs the transit agency about $40 million a year, or about 2 percent of its annual operating budget.
Rising fare evasion has prompted Metro to install high salon-style fare gates at 25 Metrorail stations. So far, Metro data shows those 25 stations have seen fare evasion drop by more than 70 percent. The gates will eventually be installed at all 98 Metrorail stations, at a cost of $35 to $40 million.
Fare evasion accounted for 63 percent of the crimes recorded on Metro trains and in stations last month. Metro General Manager Randy Clarke and Metro Transit Police officials have said crackdowns on fare evasions could help reduce other crimes on Metro.
In a public hearing in October, some critics questioned whether these moves would actually affect overall crime. Carlos Andino, a former associate counsel with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee, wondered whether the agency had enough data to link serious crimes and fare evasion. “The supporters of the bill make a dangerous assumption — those who fare evade must be more inclined to commit violent crimes,” he said.
Others were worried about the possibility of police violence, particularly following a 2018 incident in which Metro Transit Police officers pinned a woman down and exposed her breasts after a confrontation that began when they said she failed to pay her fare.
