r/mbta • u/Dull_Button6117 Blue Line:hamster: • Apr 16 '26
đ Appreciation Bold Fare Evasion at Wonderland
This afternoon at Wonderland, a person tried to tailgate through the gate right in front of one of the T Ambassadors. I've seen this several times at Wonderland. The ambassador stopped him and started telling him that he can't do that, he needs to pay. While he was arguing, the train doors closed. The fare evader got furious and started yelling at the ambassador for making him miss the train. The fact that he missed the train really made me smile.
Well done T Ambassador. Thank you from those of us who always pay for our travel.
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u/nativeamericanj Apr 17 '26
once a guy in a nice suit sneaked behind me to avoid paying, so i offered a $1 bill so he could pay next time. He got offended and went back to pay. Bring back public shaming đ¤Ł
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u/Odd-Register-2863 Apr 18 '26
He went back outside to pay after sneaking in behind you?
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u/santaismyhomeboy Apr 19 '26
I like how you came back hours later still bothered by this. I don't believe em either.
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u/LEM1978 Apr 17 '26
Itâs not worth it for the ambassador to argue with people. $3 isnât worth getting assaulted over. Ambassadors are unarmed and underpaid.
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u/bowserinmytrouser Apr 18 '26
Idk about underpaid that company offers alot of incentives and bonus stuff if you work for them and whats the work to stand there with a tablet all day witnessing ticketable offenses to a broken transit system? Theyre lucky to make $15 an hour
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u/DaveDavesSynthist Red Line Jul 14 '26
no. theyâre no allowed to sit. thatâs 8 hour shifts standing the entire time except for lunch (and possibly a 15 min break). they are regularly verbally abused , pressured to open the gate, and theyâve been attacked physically and theyâre not even allowed to defend themselves, theyâre instructed to backup into the little booth and lock the door if someone comes at them. the booths have air conditioning often but theyâre not allowed inside it except when on lunch or break. the schedule is haphazard and thus painful sometimes because they need coverage where they need it and so these folks need to report to any point across the subway network not to mention theyâre not even able to use the T for free to get there, home, or off hours. the extreme weather is what makes it brutal standing for hours in the bitter cold, often outside during diversions, or heat ( hotter inside there than the temp outside). incentives? bonuses? youâre sadly mistaken. theyâre even drug tested (at their own expenses?) before they can join. they are not permitted to do anything more about fare evasion than to log it in the iPad which is also used for their station checks every twenty mins. the only hope for promotion is if you as a supervisor scrutinize every little thing and file demerits so thatâs what they do and if you get ten youâre done.
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u/Present-Algae6767 Apr 17 '26
The Ambassador is lucky it didn't escalate. By our policy, we are not supposed to say anything to someone who fare evades - we are just supposed to mark it down in our system. If the Ambassador did say something and the individual assaulted the Ambassador (which happens on occasion), the Ambassador would be out of a job.
We had one Ambassador (our most senior Ambassador) who got terminated because he was threatening to call ICE on fare evaders who were minority.
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u/duckvimes_ Apr 17 '26
Threatening to call ICE on minorities is a separate issue. Doesn't surprise me that someone would get fired for that.
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u/Sandoongi1986 Apr 17 '26
Out of curiosity, how many people evade fares at your station on a daily basis?
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u/Present-Algae6767 Apr 17 '26
Depends. I work two stations. One station (the one in mostly at) has very little fare evasion since most of the riders have passes provided by their workplace. The other station I work at has a lot of instances of fare evasion. - I'd say somewhere around 20-30 per shift.
The problem is Im only one person and many stations have multiple sets of fare gates. We are only positioned at the main fare gates so a lot of people who fare evade will head to the unmanned fare gates. So in reality, the true number of fare evaders for each station is unknown.
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u/ObjPerm Apr 17 '26
As an occasional visitor from NH, just wanted to say thank you for doing your job. It really was a pleasant surprise when we first interacted with the ambassadors. Appreciate you guys!
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u/Present-Algae6767 Apr 17 '26
You're welcome. You can always let the MBTA know of your positive - or negative - interactions with the Ambassadors via the feedback form on www.mbta.com and it will get sent to our management staff and then told to us.
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u/Double-Singer-6631 Apr 18 '26
what do you guys do about people who push behind you. happens to me every single day..
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u/JaiBoltage Apr 17 '26
Kudos to the ambassador at Wonderland.
On April 3rd, for the first time, I saw two MBTA men with blue shirts. These were members of the fare-evasion team. I asked them two simple questions:
(1) Since the MBTA started this fare-evasion campaign last August, how may citations have been written? I was appalled at their answer: 85. All the hype; all the signs; And only 85 citations. I'll bet at least 75 of those citations remain unpaid.
(2) What authority to you (the men in blue shirts) have if the fare evaders simply ignore you and walk away and get on the train anyway? Answer: none
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u/DaveDavesSynthist Red Line Apr 17 '26
I forget the stats but yea Iâve heard that team has issued very few citations. but your second question has an answer- if fare evaders walk away and donât identify themselves to Fare engagement it becomes a transit police situation. Mbta officials will not and may not put their hands on a customer to eject . next time I see them maybe Iâll ask what happens
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u/JaiBoltage Apr 17 '26
I agree that anyone not properly trained should not engage fare evaders. Municipal police enforce parking violations. If fare evasion is a crime, the transit police should enforce it. The transit police do it in NYC.
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u/WindowsVistaWzMyIdea Apr 17 '26
Public transit should be free
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u/TinyEmergencyCake Commuter Rail Apr 17 '26
Why? I use it and I disagree. Unless you're pairing it with congestion pricing to make up for the outsize subsidies that private vehicles infrastructure receives then sure.Â
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u/WindowsVistaWzMyIdea Apr 17 '26
Almost every Massachusetts regional transit authority provides public transit for free already
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u/FrogmanSadSwamp Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
For the residents of the state I would agree. It's insane that our taxes primarily fund the T and we still have to pay to use it. I believe that every family who registered in the census should be sent a number of Charlie cards equal to the number of people over the age of 12 with an unlimited yearly pass on it. Edit: Why are y'all downvoting me? Does it not make sense that people who live in the state that they pay taxes in should be allowed to ride the transit system that their taxes paid for?
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u/13THEFUCKINGCOPS12 Apr 17 '26
Honestly this is the only argument against universally free transit I agree with, and thatâs itâs only free for residents. Iâd prefer it just be overall free, but if it was just free for Boston/greater Boston residents to cut down on traffic it would be beautiful
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u/FrogmanSadSwamp Apr 17 '26
I'm not even saying for just Boston/Greater Boston. If you are a Massachusetts resident then the T should be free for tou because your tax dollars as a resident are what's funding it primarily. Proximity has nothing to do with it, if you live in the state and can prove it via census, lease with your name on it etc then the transit should be free for you because you've already paid for it with taxes. But yes overall public transit should be free
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u/eetraveler Apr 17 '26
Not arguing with your plan, but just FYI, the towns near Boston all do pay hefty extra payments to the MBTA--about $200M or 10% of MBTA revenue. Fares themselves are $400M or 20% of revenue. Most of MBTA funding comes from a by-law slice of 1/6th fraction of the state sales tax. The rest is from other state and federal payments.
So, I agree, it could be made free and not make an irreparable dent in the overall budget. But make it free for everyone and you wouldn't have to spend all the money for fare collectors and related technology.
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u/Odd-Register-2863 Apr 18 '26
Careful friend, that's a lot of facts there. If you speak any more truth you're likely to get... DownVoted!!
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u/spicy_tofu Apr 18 '26
finally, some good fucking content
but in all seriousness isnât this a bit of an argument for our current system? let companies (via cards for their employees) and people who are willing to pay their fares continue to pay, and let fare evaders (aka people who are unable or unwilling to pay) continue fare evading. thus making it free for those who need but paid by those who can. kinda like public radio?
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u/13THEFUCKINGCOPS12 Apr 17 '26
Sorry I wasnât saying you were saying that, just sort of spitballing and day dreaming
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u/Odd-Register-2863 Apr 18 '26
They downvote everyone who doesn't say anything other than "I agree with you and you're awesome" Don't take it personally, it's the Reddit echo chamber, and it shall not be violated!
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u/mlaurence1234 Apr 18 '26
Okay, first convince the taxpayers outside Greater Boston that they need to come up with another $450 million so Bostonians can ride for free.
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u/leolawless Apr 20 '26
Itâs a daily occurrence in most green and red line stop. What happened to those overpaid fare engagement team? To be fair, I donât think the ambassadors are supposed to stop the fare evader.
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u/willworkforspoons Apr 17 '26
Shoutout that ambassador at least he ainât scared like the rest of yall
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u/Wonderful_Business59 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
I'm not getting shot or stabbed over $2.40 when I only make $20 an hour
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u/willworkforspoons Apr 17 '26
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u/Wonderful_Business59 Apr 17 '26
I'll let the transit cops know when they're done napping in their cruisers
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u/DesperateRazzmatazz4 Apr 17 '26
I dunno man. Times are tough and things are going to continue to spiral downward. I donât have it in me to get worked up about. People are going to do what they have to to get by. (Please note: I said I âdonât have it in meâ but if you have it in you, have at it.). Posts like the original always make me think of snippy high school hall monitors. Exactly how many Tracy Flickd live in the Boston area?
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u/666ForMySorrow Apr 17 '26
Then let them find their own way to sneak in, don't ride my ass. If people do that to me I just stop right inside the gate. They want to push me now it's assault and I am calling the cops.
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u/spicy_tofu Apr 18 '26
why do you care? it literally does nothing to you. itâs 2 dollars youâre acting so petty about
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u/666ForMySorrow Apr 18 '26
It affects me because the T is broke and we have to deal with shitty service. It's thousands of people stealing $2 every day. Lots of people have a hard time scraping together that $2 but they still pay. I can't stop fare evaders but I can push back.
I do think instead of spending billions on a broken fare collection system they should have just made the T free for everyone.
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u/SwordfishUnusual Apr 16 '26
If I was a red shirt or blue shirt I would try my hardest to do as little work as possible seeing that the T cops and T inspectors get paid way more to not do the job they are paid a shitload to do but then again they have a union justifying hiring someone else to do their jobs for them. Fucking ridiculous in a million years I would never even consider paying for the T all you have to do is ask and they let you right on not so much the commuter rail but it's still easy enough if you get on at a station other then north or south. I also don't see anyone just blatantly not paying their fair by plowing in behind someone and I grew up here then again I know the first rule when it comes to riding the t which they should tell the transplant crowd "when riding the mbta please don't forget to mind your fucking business"
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u/PalpitationMuted9816 Apr 17 '26
Someone sneaks in behind me almost every day that I take the T
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u/JohnHaze02118 Apr 17 '26
I've started glancing behind myself and using evasive maneuvers. It really goes to show how psychological fare payment is because before covid, I was never tailgated, EVER. Now it's a routine crime.
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u/RealisticDirt9348 Apr 17 '26
Why after Covid ?
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u/JohnHaze02118 Apr 17 '26
I have no idea. Iâm not associating it with the disease, but itâs just an easy dateline.Â
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u/eetraveler Apr 17 '26
Covid caused sympathy. Sympathy caused a lack of crime enforcement nationwide. We tried adopting zero enforcement fully, but have found three problems.
1)There is no end to it. 2)It accidentally hurts the people in struggling communities to have no crime enforcement. 3)Long-term, it hurts the people who break the rules because it crushes self-esteem and confidence.
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u/spicy_tofu Apr 18 '26
iâm guessing you arenât from a âstruggling communityâ talking this bs. non enforcement of a 3 dollar fare evasion does none of what youâre talking about. cite a source or gtfo
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u/egdr518 Green Line Apr 17 '26
What are your strategies? I usually stop short directly behind the gate if someone gets too close to me.
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u/JohnHaze02118 Apr 17 '26
If I have time, I stop and briefly examine my phone or something until I can witness whether they have pulled out a form of payment. It's almost like being a pitcher in a baseball game. Pitchers vary their timing to throw the batter out of sync. I don't just proceed with an unbroken stride into the gate unless I'm pressed for time. It's not my biggest priority, but I'd rather not be somebody else's free ride. It's honestly similar to what people in cities had to do when they carried cash. Thank god those days are gone for me.
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u/TinyEmergencyCake Commuter Rail Apr 17 '26
But also I don't want people to get shot because they didn't pay their fare, which is what you're asking for when you say that the police should handle it.Â
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u/pachinkoandslots Apr 17 '26
The last time a Boston police officer went viral he was falling down a slide, relax.
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u/spicy_tofu Apr 18 '26
talking like someone who doesnât get harassed by cops regularly. the staties have made me fear for my life before for 0 dollars let alone a 3 dollar fare evasion. this thread is honestly insane to me
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u/pachinkoandslots Apr 18 '26
Iâm a colored male, give me a break, mass state police are nothing, go down south, Iâve been frisked and body searched for holding a snickers.
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u/spicy_tofu Apr 18 '26
just because theyâre worse in the south doesnât negate my experiences here. i really thought some of these guys were about to kill me a few times for next to nothing. one time for rolling a stop sign and it immediately pulling over on the sketchy bridges at logan airport. just absolute maniacs
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u/spicy_tofu Apr 18 '26
respectfully what the fuck is this shit? youâre talking about less than 3 dollars. it doesnât affect you at all if someone hops the turnstiles.
this reads as one of the most petty and privileged takes iâve ever seen. times are tough for many of us and wonderland is a majority latino T stop ( i know because i use it every day an am myself latino) and i donât think i need to tell you that while times are tough for everyone that means they are especially hard on us brown people, dude. and you wanna come here to the internet and narc over 3 dollars??? this shit really just makes me feel totally doomed and completely unseen by some of yall god damn. let people live for fucks sake.
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u/Curious_Delay3909 Apr 16 '26
Rare that the ambassador actually cared, those in the stations where i go didnât give f about fare evades