An MTA panel released a report last week, which revealed the system had lost an estimated $690 million from unpaid fares and tolls in 2022.

This meant that on average, every day, nearly 400,000 riders evaded fares on the subways, and 700,000 bus riders boarded without paying.

The report clarifies that letting fare evasion continue could lead to an erosion in mass transit services.

The MTA is exploring some solutions, including a high-tech subway fare gate.

Co-chairs of the Blue-Ribbon Panel, which included social justice and law enforcement experts, Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, executive director of the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, and Roger Maldonado, a partner at Smith, Gambrell, & Russell LLP, sat down with NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to introduce and break down some other proposed solutions.

“You see it everywhere, in every subway station across New York City, all five boroughs, no matter what the neighborhood is. It’s really rampant,” Pierre-Louis says. “We really studied this issue by going onsite visits, meeting with members of the MTA, police, and also going to the bridges and tunnels.”