As the classic jazz standard goes, “Take the A Train.” Well, maybe. If you’re a Pasadena or broader LA County resident who rides LA Metro, your top complaints all too frequently are likely to be about crime, anti-social behavior, cleanliness, and issues related to homelessness.
Los Angeles Mayor and new LA Metro Board Chair Karen Bass recently stated her goal of making Metro fare free. With all respect to Mayor Bass and her reelection campaign, that is precisely the wrong goal. The better goal is a world class system that is frequent, reliable, safe, and secure. At least that is what Metro’s own riders report as their priorities year after year in Metro’s onboard surveys.
Metro’s own data shows most crime and anti-social behavior on the system is committed by fare evading riders. It’s certainly unlikely that criminals are tapping their cards prior to boarding, and Metro should not be a housing solution for the unhoused.
But fare evasion is seen across the socio-economic spectrum, all ethnic groups, all ages. Those with resources are just as likely to skip paying, since there is no incentive to pay.
Frankly, ensuring that there are consequences to fare evasion is a matter of equity and fairness for everyone who does pay, or who benefits from one of LA Metro’s readily available discounted or free fare programs.
Prior to 2018, Metro Officers conducted over 350,000 onboard fare checks per month. This sensible “trust but verify” strategy kept fare evasion low. Then, starting in Fall 2018, Metro began ramping down fare enforcement. In May, there were just 19,000 fare checks out of 27 million rides, an enforcement rate of 0.07 percent. Metro does perform checks to see if riders have a TAP card, but without verifying if the card was actually tapped.
As a result, fares have effectively become optional, and Metro’s fare collection data suggests half of riders do not pay. The result is a worse rider experience – and less money for system enhancements.
Fare gates and TAP-to-exit requirements are absolutely essential parts of keeping fare evaders out of the rail system, but many stations don’t have gates, nor are such systems practical on Metro buses. This means officers or other staff actively checking to make sure riders have paid their fares remains essential across all of Metro’s transit modes.
This is not rocket science. Denver’s transit system conducted over 400,000 fare checks per month in May, a 500 percent increase since 2024, in a system with 5.5 million boardings. Denver RTD did this with just over 100 officers, many fewer than LA Metro. San Diego also manages active fare enforcement systemwide.
LA County taxpayers already provide funding to Metro through Propositions A and C, and Measures R and M sales taxes. While Metro can never recover operating costs through fare revenue alone, it seems reasonable for taxpayers to demand that Metro enforce fares by conducting system wide fare checks, like Denver and San Diego.
Unfortunately for LA County taxpayers, thus far the LA Metro Board as a body has shown no urgency in mandating such checks, or even publicly acknowledging the extent of the problem, though most Directors have emphasized the importance of safety and security.
The Metro Board should not make the mistake of assuming perpetual support from taxpayers for Metro funding without demonstrating good revenue protection measures. Systematic fare checks across the system would be a timely start, and public officials in the SGV should press the Metro Board for exactly that.
In a way, Mayor Bass has already achieved a fare free system. But at the cost of discouraging ridership and depriving the system of revenue that could be used to pay for system enhancements. Indeed, this would deliver on the priorities that Metro riders have said are most important, including more frequent, faster, and safer service. Riders deserve respect.
P.A. Brown is a LA Metro rider and resident of Pasadena.