Free Riders Hurting S.F.'s Muni
Unpaid riders and broken fares boxes are causing budget woes for San Francisco's bus and rail system, Muni, according to the system's administrators. The agency estimates losses in the tens of millions of dollars.
San Francisco's public transit system raises only 22 percent of its operating expenses at the fare box -- a rate that falls short of the national average -- in part due to broken fare boxes and riders who cheat the system, city officials acknowledge."
"Officials don't know how much money is lost each year, but it could be in the tens of millions of dollars, according to the agency's own estimates."
"The revelation comes as the agency's governing board is asking Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors to raise tow fees and the cost to park at city-owned garages to help close a projected $11 million deficit in the agency's proposed $680 million budget."
"To illustrate the problem of fare cheats, Ford held up a fistful of confiscated counterfeit monthly FastPasses at a recent City Hall meeting, telling the agency's governing board, 'We do have an issue with fraud we need to deal with.'"
"One proposed solution: Increase the number of fare inspectors over the next year to 64, up from the current crew of 28."
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there are some simple solutions to this
1. Make waiting areas secure, i.e, you have to buy a ticket to get inside. Increased capital costs but lower enforcement costs over the long term. BART, NYC subway, and countless others all across the land use this method. I know the stations use this butcha could make them MORE secure.
2. Make it so you get a magnetic scannable ticket that you have to scan to open the door from the outside.
3. Frequent riders could benefit from "mobil fastpass" sort of keychain ring.
I'm sure there's more, those are just the ones I thought of.... in ten seconds.
The San Diego Trolley
seems to not have magnetic scanable tickets, mobil fastpasses, or secure waiting areas either. All they have are rude transit cops patrolling the trolley cars infrequently to harass riders for their tickets.
Before you attempt to spoon adivce to us San Franciscans on how to better manager out light rail, perhaps you should consider that the San Diego MTA has been losing millions of dollars EVERY year on unpaid fares, it's just the SD Union Tribune is too chicken**** to report on it. Remember, don't wanna have any negative press about "America's Finest City" to scare the tourists! On the contrary, our press in the Bay Area (Chronicle, Tribune, Mercury) over-sensationalizes the problems here, which are not nearly as bad as they report them to be.
Some advice Travis, stick to your own town's transit issues and don't worry aout how much better it is up here in the Bay Area.
holy moly
You're right about the trolley. I do believe it has the same sort of problems. That sort of non-secure fare system requires trolley cops. And I would have said the same sort of thing about the trolley, except that the article wasn't about San Diego, it was about San Francisco. Sorry for staying on topic, I promise it won't happen again. :-)
Hey VT, I have been wondering what you look like in real life.... dare you to post a picture of yourself... just curious if your bark is worse than your bite. hahahahah