The MTA has hired private security guards to help crack down on fare beaters at some stations, New York City Transit President Richard Davey said during an MTA board meeting Wednesday.

Through a pilot program, the unarmed guards have been placed near emergency exits at six stations across the city. 

Davey said the initiative has been successful thus far.

"Across those six stations, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in fares being paid in just the last six to eight weeks,” Davey said Wednesday. “This is something we're going to scale across the system to not only provide more eyes and ears for more security purposes, but also to see if we could continue to push on fare evasion in the system." 

The MTA plans to expand the program by hiring 50 additional guards each month.

Back in May, the agency said it was on track to lose $500 million to fare evasion this year.