Fare Dodgers Beware – MTS to Start Issuing Immediate Citations in 2025
Early next year, riders on Metropolitan Transit System trolley cars caught without a valid fare will be issued a citation then and there, thanks to an MTS board vote Thursday.
In the current system, MTS Security officers can offer someone caught without a valid fare the chance to buy a fare or validate one. The change – which is system-wide but will nearly entirely impact trolley riders – will go into effect Feb. 1, 2025.
Between May 2022 and July 2024, an analysis found that MTS lost between $17 million and $23 million in fare revenue due to evasion. This total comes from an estimated 57,000 monthly riders not paying fares unless expressly checked by MTS officers.
According to MTS, riders in violation will be issued a fine as low as $25 if cleared through a diversion program, or up to $192 or more in traffic court if not cleared within 120 days.
"Riders with no previous citations will have the opportunity to have their first citation dismissed when they appeal through the diversion program," according to a statement from MTS. "Riders also have the ability to appeal the citation directly to MTS in other select cases."
Thursday's board action comes as MTS is trying to modernize its process to allow for online and phone payments, supplemented by mailed-in checks or paying in person at the MTS Transit Store.
