A staggering revenue gap prompts new technology aimed squarely at the turnstile hop
A number large enough to make even New Yorkers pause
The MTA lost an eye-popping 918 million dollars in revenue last year due to fare evasion, according to a study cited by CBS New York’s transit coverage, prompting the agency to unveil a new high-tech system aimed at catching offenders. Riders who have watched the turnstile hop performed with near-Olympic confidence for years may wonder what took so long.
A very public secret finally gets a budget line
Fare evasion has been visible to literally anyone standing near a subway entrance for as long as subways have existed, making the technology unveiling feel less like a breakthrough and more like an extremely expensive admission that the agency was, in fact, watching the whole time.
MTA leadership outlines a broader agenda
MTA Chair Janno Lieber has also floated lowering fares for lower income riders while cracking down further on evasion, a balancing act that will require considerably more finesse than simply installing more cameras at the turnstile.
Fazit
Nearly a billion dollars later, the agency has officially noticed the turnstile hop. SOURCE: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/tag/janno-lieber For more British satire on a related theme, see The London Prat’s Britain Reviews Foreign Political Money.