Photo by Rick Audet
Fare inspection is many people’s pet Muni topic. “UnemployedDragon” sent us this gripe concerning what he feels is an uneven distribution of TFIs (transit fare inspectors):
I’m really wondering about the distribution of fare inspection across the Muni system. I’ve had reason to ride both the light-rail and buses a great deal this summer. I’ve only been subject to fare inspection on the T-Third. I’ve regularly ridden the 22-Fillmore, the 47-Van Ness, the 45-Union/Stockton, the 14-Mission, the 9-San Bruno, and the 33-Stanyan. I’ve never seen fare inspectors on any of those buses. Even on the T, I’ve only seen fare inspectors in the very middle of the day, never at night.
Where were the fare inspectors this past Tuesday at around 2pm, as a hoard of people got on the back door of the 49 at Market and Van Ness (and there was not anyone boarding using the lift for wheelchairs, I checked). Where are the fare inspectors when elderly passengers don’t tag their Clipper cards, when I’ve seen younger people frequently asked to to produce their Clipper card to be checked? Where are the fare inspectors on the F Line (my guess is that the city doesn’t want to hassle tourists…bad move).
All of this leads me to think that the likelihood of being subject to fare inspection is greater on the light rail, and the T specifically, than it is on the buses. This is not right…fare inspection should be a likely occurrence on any Muni vehicle.
Good points are raised here. So we asked the folks at SFMTA for more information about whether and how TFIs are spread out throughout the Muni system. All they had to say was, “Without getting into specific deployment strategies, our TFIs are deployed by police district. They coordinate with SFPD as they patrol the system.” That’s it?
We still want to know:
- Are TFIs deployed proportionally to the number of fare evasions in specific police districts?
- Does it depend on staffing abilities of the district?
- Is there an effort to deploy TFIs to all lines and districts?
The fare inspectors shouldn’t be distributed evenly unless the goal is to create equal risk of being caught for every MUNI fare evader. That’s a goal for fairness, not for revenue. In its current state, MUNI needs to maximize revenue, dear people.
The goal should be to make the most efficient reduction in fare evaders, which means concentrating the fare inspectors where and when most of the fare evaders are trying to get on for free.
Presumably the SFPD and MUNI together are generating that information. Although the accuracy of the predicted evader concentration is open for debate, unequal distribution of fare inspectors seems to me to be not only expected but desired.
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I don’t think I’ve ever been controlled (do we say this in English?) on a bus. Most of the time I encounter the inspectors as I leave the Muni underground stations after having travelled on an inbound train. I guess that’s logical, as persons departing all the different lines at that stop will get controlled. And the greatest opportunity to evade is to board a train at one of the above-ground stops.
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Where are the fare inspectors on the 30 and 45 through Stockton street?????!!! It’s beyond infuriating. I guess some people have to pay for Muni and others do not.
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You mad, bro?
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It’s simple. The fare inspectors are afraid. They are not deployed to any lines that can cause them the most trouble. The likelihood of one being assaulted or shot on the 9X is much higher then on the L or N. Simple put, fare inspectors are to afraid to work on the rougher lines much less at night.
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If the goal is to make the most efficient reduction in fare evaders, what about targeting the 30, 45, 47 and 8X in the morning and evening commute?
I was in the bus when the fare inspectors checked on the proof of payment of a 30 at 8.30am on Stockton, and they had 10 people in line waiting for their citation
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Fare inspectors had (they don’t seem to anymore) showed up regularly on my evening commute on a 47 and 49. Given the amount of backboarding, I could see why.
But even within lines at certain stops, there is more backboarding than others. Their daily travels should perhaps take this into account. For example, when a fare inspector(s) would check people on a 49 at Oak and Van Ness, I don’t think they ever rode all the way to 16th and Mission where even more fare evasion happens.
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Chiming in to say I’ve been fare-inspected on the 22 Fillmore at least three times, and on the 38 Geary at least five times.
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I got checked just yesterday on the 33-Stanyan. As far as not checking at night goes, I don’t blame them in the least. It’s kind of sketchy just to ride the bus at night, I can’t imagine trying to give somebody a citation.
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night time is no excuse. They were hired to do a job…and they take that risk. If they’re afraid of being hurt, they need to either find new work or become policemen.
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I don’t use the busses very much, so I can’t speak to them, but there’s regular inspections on the N and J as well as in both the Van Ness and Civic Center underground stations.
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your suspicion has been mine as well. Why is it that when I see these fare inspectors on th T, I see them in groups of three. OTOH, I regularly encounter SFPD officers on foot alone. What’s the deal with fare inspectors always in groups of three? Yup, my guess is that they are afraid.
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SFPD officers have guns, tasers, billy clups, and, most importantly, training to deal with all sorts of situations. They’ve also got more authority to detain people. POP cops do not have any of the above.
IMO we should have SFPD doing fare inspections as part of their beat. It gets them out into the communities and helps ensure people pay for their ride. Then again, SFPD officers are supposed to be riding MUNI at least once a shift anyhow (and they still refuse to do so).
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but you have proven my point…you were subject to fare inspection while riding the light rail…not while you were riding a bus.
It seems to me that LRV riders are more apt to be subject to fare inspection.
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I never see them on the 6 or 71 Haight/Market route during the commute hours. There seem to be some stops on that route where no one ever seems to pay.
I actually changed the stop where I board in the morning because I was one of the few who boarded the front and actually paid and by then the freeloaders had taken all of the seats.
Those were the good old days though, now the freeloaders still get on but the seats were filled long before, 20 stops back down the line.
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I’ve been inspected on the 9, 9L, 8X, 44, 22, and others. Never on the light rail, though. It’s odd how each person’s experience can differ greatly.
I, for one, would love to see fare inspectors on every route (on every bus/vehicle?). But I know that’s too good to be true (and it would delay Muni even more!).
People who don’t pay are scum, right up there with shoplifters and taggers. IMHO, of course.
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fare inspectors on the 48 today…first time I’ve seen them on a bus all summer. As usual it was a gang of three that boarded.
an operator who boarded on his way back to the yard in PH, told me that the TFI’s were told to start riding the buses or they’d loose their jobs. If that’s true, I’m glad to see management sticking it to them. Next, I want to see them at night and I want to see them on buses at night.
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Actually they have a new Police Commander and she has redepolyed them to differant Police districts every day ie. Mission, Southern, Park, Northern, Central, Richmond, Bayview, Travel, Ingleside. Tenderlion and they rotate it everyday. You saw them on what i assume as a Mission Day which means any line bus or train in that district they can get on with out hearing any heat from there manager. Before the manager told them one line all day long pretty much. I think the new Commander makes approach makes sense.
Ed
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In a state of economic depression the first thing we must do is crack down on those greedy bus riders trying to get free rides! I mean imagine all of the revenue we would make by punishing them and giving fines of hundreds of dollars! Why does a few bucks out of a working man’s pocket matter more than thousand and millions of dollars sucked out by the wealthy.
I saw a kid tha looked 15 get a 100 dollar fine for his first offense today. This is fascism at its finest. Are we fining rich corporations for tax evasions?… I doubt it. Muni should be free in my perspective, and if you sneak on who the hell cares. This is bullshit and I don’t know why everyone thinks it is so normal. If I see another kid get F”ed with like that again I am going to politely intervene.
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LOL. How could you possibly compare taking money from the rich with giving fare evaders fines? Come on. Fare evaders deserve all the fines they get for not paying their fare. Suppose for example, that 15 year old you’re talking about has been evading the fare for most of his trips ever since he started riding the bus. Now that should definitely be worth at least $100. And since we’re in a state of economic depression, increased amounts of revenue are needed these days in order to avoid cuts in service, so how could you possibly blame them for trying to make sure that some 15 year old kid pays his cheap fare of $0.75. Most teens can easily afford to spend hundreds of dollars on shoes and clothes, so why can’t they just pay their damn fare?
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Well said Realist. The citizens of San Francisco are so spoiled they do not even realize it. The State of California has an entire section of the Penal Code devoted to Fare Evation related violations under section 640. That is what SFPD, BART PD, or Caltrain Conductors cite under and those fines carry a fine of up to $250 and they are criminal which means if you dont take care of it, it becomes a warrent for your arrest, unlike the Muni fines of $100 that go back to Muni or if you dont pay they go to a collection agency and wreck your credit score.
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