NEW YORK - Fare evasion is still making a big dent in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's revenue stream.

The agency expects to lose $260 million to fare beaters by the end of the year.

New numbers from the MTA show 25 percent of local bus riders didn't pay a fare from January through March of this year.

That's up from 18 percent during the same time period in 2018.

The data also show four percent of subway riders jumped the turnstile over the first three months of 2019.

That's up from three percent last year.

Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an extra 500 police officers would be deployed throughout the transit system to crack down on fare evaders.