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New D.C. Bill Would Close Fare Evasion Loophole On Metro
11:28 AM
New D.C. Bill Would Close Fare Evasion Loophole On Metro
Jordan Pascale
A D.C. bill would close a fare evasion loophole that Metro has been asking for.
WAMU/DCist / Jordan Pascale
A new bill from D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto aims to close a loophole in the District’s fare evasion law. Metro says the law, as it is now, ties its hands in catching people with warrants, weapons, and those who break the law on trains and buses.
Currently, people stopped for fare evasion are subject to a $50 civil fine after the Council decriminalized the offense in 2018, a move that aimed to reduce the racial disparity — more than 90 percent of tickets were given to Black people, according to a 2018 analysis — and not throw people in the criminal justice system for such a low-level offense.
But there is no enforcement mechanism to require alleged evaders to provide their name and address to officials. ... “We must equip law enforcement with the tools they need to keep riders safe,” Pinto wrote in a letter explaining her bill, the Metro Safety Amendment Act of 2023.
The bill would create an enforcement mechanism, Pinto says: If someone fare evades, they can be stopped by law enforcement and if they refuse to provide their true name and ID, they can be detained and subject to a fine of up to $100.
{snip}
New D.C. Bill Would Close Fare Evasion Loophole On Metro
Jordan Pascale
A D.C. bill would close a fare evasion loophole that Metro has been asking for.
WAMU/DCist / Jordan Pascale
A new bill from D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto aims to close a loophole in the District’s fare evasion law. Metro says the law, as it is now, ties its hands in catching people with warrants, weapons, and those who break the law on trains and buses.
Currently, people stopped for fare evasion are subject to a $50 civil fine after the Council decriminalized the offense in 2018, a move that aimed to reduce the racial disparity — more than 90 percent of tickets were given to Black people, according to a 2018 analysis — and not throw people in the criminal justice system for such a low-level offense.
But there is no enforcement mechanism to require alleged evaders to provide their name and address to officials. ... “We must equip law enforcement with the tools they need to keep riders safe,” Pinto wrote in a letter explaining her bill, the Metro Safety Amendment Act of 2023.
The bill would create an enforcement mechanism, Pinto says: If someone fare evades, they can be stopped by law enforcement and if they refuse to provide their true name and ID, they can be detained and subject to a fine of up to $100.
{snip}