BTinSF
02-27-2007, 05:49 PM
This is a pet peeve of mine. I simply can't understand why it is accepted in San Francisco the way it is. Nobody seems to care when somebody boards the rear of a bus with no indication at all that they've paid a fare. On the runs through downtown areas I usually take--38, 5, 47, 49, 14--as many as a third of the passenger can be riding free (things are probably better in the outer, more middle class areas though). Add those fare losses to the $24 million the article estimates for LRV fare non-payers and you could be looking at 1/4 of muni's potential fares go uncollected.
One other point. My observation of the very few fare inspectors Muni has is not encouraging. Mostly, they ride only the uncrowded routes like the LRVs along the Embarcadero and mostly rather than splitting up and asking to see transfer or passes while they are riding, they group together and do little beyond engage each other in conversation.
I'd love to hear if JChurch or anybody else with a serious interest in SF mass transit believes there's a solution to this because I can't believe Muni couldn't be an imporved service with all the money it is not now collecting.
No fare: cheats on Muni
Freeloaders are costing S.F. transit agency millions
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
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.
"We're aware of the problems, and we're working to fix them,'' said Nathaniel Ford, who runs the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
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.
With a daily ridership of about 700,000, Muni is the Bay Area's busiest transit agency.
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.
Last year, fare inspectors issued about 9,500 citations, mainly for fare evasion, which carries a fine of up to $500.
A real FastPass has a metallic strip embedded with a hard-to-reproduce hologram, but at a glance, the bogus passes are hard to differentiate from the real ones. Often passengers keep the passes tucked in a see-through protective pouch and quickly flash them as they board a bus. The fake passes can't be used in the streetcar stations, where passengers enter through an electronic fare gate.
A regular FastPass costs $45 a month; discounted passes for seniors, students and disabled riders cost $10. The regular adult cash fare is $1.50.
A study conducted in 2004 and 2005 by the Municipal Transportation Agency and released last year found that between 54 and 73 percent of riders at three subway stations didn't pay a fare or show a pass.
The report, which focused on the Civic Center, Montgomery and Embarcadero Metro stations, said inspectors stated that a large number of people jump the fare gates or duck under them or pass illegally through a side gate. The potential annual loss, according to the report: $24.7 million to $33.4 million.
Those numbers don't include the number of people who board buses without paying. Back-door boarding of buses is prohibited, even for people who have valid FastPasses or transfers.
"I see it every day,'' said Jim Levine, a financial analyst who commutes on the 14-Mission. "People always come through the back door, especially in the morning when the bus is crowded. They may have a FastPass, but who's to know?''
A survey conducted in 2005 on the 30-Stockton, one of the busiest routes in the system, found that the average bus collected $376.27 a day when fare inspectors weren't present and $436 a day when they were.
"Based upon an average increase of $60 per day across the entire system at 1,100 runs per day times 365 days per year, the revenues would increase by approximately $24.1 million per year'' if more fare inspectors were deployed, the agency reported in last year's proposed budget summary.
And then there's the issue of broken fare boxes.
Ford estimated that between 10 and 20 buses and streetcars are put into service every day without working fare boxes. Approximately 700 vehicles overall are pressed into service every day.
A lack of replacement parts for the 17-year-old fare-collection machines has delayed repairs. Muni mechanics often have to fashion the parts themselves because they're no longer readily available from the manufacturer, Ford said.
It's unclear how much money is lost because of broken fare boxes, but if the Stockton bus survey from 2005 is any indication, several thousand dollars go uncollected daily.
Ford said he prefers to have vehicles with inoperable fare boxes on the streets than to keep them out of service, resulting in missed runs.
For the new fiscal year that starts July 1, the Municipal Transportation Agency plans to collect nearly $138 million in transit fares, which accounts for 22 percent of the operating budget. Nationwide, the average rate is 34.2 percent, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
However, it is difficult to compare transit agencies because of varying ridership figures and costs for labor and equipment. The complexity of a system can also affect the bottom line -- Muni, for example, operates buses, light-rail, historic streetcars and cable cars.
Fare collection isn't the only financial problem facing the Municipal Transportation Agency. Recent city reports found the agency has come up short in getting the full potential out of parking meters and city-owned garages -- two other areas Ford hopes to improve over the next year.
"People need to feel confident that we're maximizing our resources, and that every penny we receive is used efficiently,'' he said. "We're not there yet, but we're working toward that.''
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/02/27/mn_muni2_lm.jpghttp://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/02/27/mn_muni1_lm.jpghttp://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/02/27/mn_muni042_lm.jpg
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/27/MUNI.TMP
Anybody seriously think those guys photographed getting on the rear paid?
One other point. My observation of the very few fare inspectors Muni has is not encouraging. Mostly, they ride only the uncrowded routes like the LRVs along the Embarcadero and mostly rather than splitting up and asking to see transfer or passes while they are riding, they group together and do little beyond engage each other in conversation.
I'd love to hear if JChurch or anybody else with a serious interest in SF mass transit believes there's a solution to this because I can't believe Muni couldn't be an imporved service with all the money it is not now collecting.
No fare: cheats on Muni
Freeloaders are costing S.F. transit agency millions
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
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.
"We're aware of the problems, and we're working to fix them,'' said Nathaniel Ford, who runs the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
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.
With a daily ridership of about 700,000, Muni is the Bay Area's busiest transit agency.
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.
Last year, fare inspectors issued about 9,500 citations, mainly for fare evasion, which carries a fine of up to $500.
A real FastPass has a metallic strip embedded with a hard-to-reproduce hologram, but at a glance, the bogus passes are hard to differentiate from the real ones. Often passengers keep the passes tucked in a see-through protective pouch and quickly flash them as they board a bus. The fake passes can't be used in the streetcar stations, where passengers enter through an electronic fare gate.
A regular FastPass costs $45 a month; discounted passes for seniors, students and disabled riders cost $10. The regular adult cash fare is $1.50.
A study conducted in 2004 and 2005 by the Municipal Transportation Agency and released last year found that between 54 and 73 percent of riders at three subway stations didn't pay a fare or show a pass.
The report, which focused on the Civic Center, Montgomery and Embarcadero Metro stations, said inspectors stated that a large number of people jump the fare gates or duck under them or pass illegally through a side gate. The potential annual loss, according to the report: $24.7 million to $33.4 million.
Those numbers don't include the number of people who board buses without paying. Back-door boarding of buses is prohibited, even for people who have valid FastPasses or transfers.
"I see it every day,'' said Jim Levine, a financial analyst who commutes on the 14-Mission. "People always come through the back door, especially in the morning when the bus is crowded. They may have a FastPass, but who's to know?''
A survey conducted in 2005 on the 30-Stockton, one of the busiest routes in the system, found that the average bus collected $376.27 a day when fare inspectors weren't present and $436 a day when they were.
"Based upon an average increase of $60 per day across the entire system at 1,100 runs per day times 365 days per year, the revenues would increase by approximately $24.1 million per year'' if more fare inspectors were deployed, the agency reported in last year's proposed budget summary.
And then there's the issue of broken fare boxes.
Ford estimated that between 10 and 20 buses and streetcars are put into service every day without working fare boxes. Approximately 700 vehicles overall are pressed into service every day.
A lack of replacement parts for the 17-year-old fare-collection machines has delayed repairs. Muni mechanics often have to fashion the parts themselves because they're no longer readily available from the manufacturer, Ford said.
It's unclear how much money is lost because of broken fare boxes, but if the Stockton bus survey from 2005 is any indication, several thousand dollars go uncollected daily.
Ford said he prefers to have vehicles with inoperable fare boxes on the streets than to keep them out of service, resulting in missed runs.
For the new fiscal year that starts July 1, the Municipal Transportation Agency plans to collect nearly $138 million in transit fares, which accounts for 22 percent of the operating budget. Nationwide, the average rate is 34.2 percent, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
However, it is difficult to compare transit agencies because of varying ridership figures and costs for labor and equipment. The complexity of a system can also affect the bottom line -- Muni, for example, operates buses, light-rail, historic streetcars and cable cars.
Fare collection isn't the only financial problem facing the Municipal Transportation Agency. Recent city reports found the agency has come up short in getting the full potential out of parking meters and city-owned garages -- two other areas Ford hopes to improve over the next year.
"People need to feel confident that we're maximizing our resources, and that every penny we receive is used efficiently,'' he said. "We're not there yet, but we're working toward that.''
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/02/27/mn_muni2_lm.jpghttp://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/02/27/mn_muni1_lm.jpghttp://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/02/27/mn_muni042_lm.jpg
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/27/MUNI.TMP
Anybody seriously think those guys photographed getting on the rear paid?
