Sources: Fare Beaters Cheating MTA $50 Million Annually
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Bus riders who don't pay their fare are costing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority more than originally thought.
Sources tell NY1 people who don't pay for bus rides cost the agency about $50 million every year.
That's far more than the $14 million the MTA previously estimated.
City Councilwoman Debi Rose says fare beating takes its toll on the transit system.
"This has, you know, an effect on the MTA's budget which has a deficit and we recognize that if people were paying the fare that we would be able to maybe plug some of the deficit we're seeing in the MTA budget," Rose said.
In a story first reported by NY1, the NYPD has been putting undercover officers on Staten Island buses to arrest people who don't pay.
Police say since the beginning of the year, more than 76 bus fare beaters have been arrested on Staten Island.
Only a handful of people had been arrested for fare beating in the borough over the last 10 years.