Even after losing about $8 million a year from bus fare beaters, like those cheating the Bx12 honor system, the MTA has no plans to inflict harsher punishments or change the system. They're actually expanding it to First and Second Avenues in Manhattan. MTA spokesman Charles Seaton told the Daily News, "The officers are out there every day, so we're not going to do anything special. Cities all over the world have implemented rapid transit buses. It's part of speeding the buses along." That's right—scofflaw commuters in European cities have been riding without paying for years. Now it's finally our turn!
Though 90 people boarded without paying within an hour earlier this month, Seaton says it's no skin off the MTA's already bare back. "Fare evasion on SBS is consistent with the system average for all buses," he said, pointing out that many people who ride the bus already have a free transfer from the subway. But even if half of those people had subway transfers, that's still $100 the MTA is losing every hour.
Other, honest riders seem annoyed that the buses aren't even that fast. One rider said, "I ride it each day, twice a day, and have not seen a noticeable time savings. Also, in almost two years, I have yet to see anyone checking receipts. I also regularly see people scrounging around, picking up discarded tickets and even presenting them to the drivers on the Bx12 non-SBS buses who accept them."
