Measuring and Managing Fare Evasion (2022)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

B-1   The research team conducted a phone survey with staff from various transit agencies. Case studies, provided in Appendix A, were developed based on the phone surveys and follow-up communications with each agency. Included below is a sample email requesting the agency’s participation in the phone survey. The survey questions and data request were provided to the agency in advance of their participation, as part of the survey request. Additional details about the research approach are available in the report’s Chapter 2, “Research Approach.” Agency Phone Survey Request Four Nines Technologies is leading the TCRP study A-45: Measuring and Managing Fare Evasion. This research effort explores how agencies measure fare evasion, the enforcement strat- egies implemented by agencies, the motivations behind them, and their associated successes and challenges, alongside a comprehensive literature review on the state of best practices in enforce- ment. The end product will be a final report that will focus on (a) data quality and resources to collect accurate data, (b) the policy decisions around efficiency and equity of fare enforcement strategies, and (c) costs and benefits of fare enforcement. We have identified your agency during our research as being of particular interest to this study. The following are the 12 questions we wish to explore with you and/or other appropriate agency staff during a 60–90@minute telephone survey. In addition to our phone call, we would appreciate your identification and/or submittal of any documents prepared by or about your agency that are relevant to the research topic. A few such items are identified in the data request following the survey questions. Survey Questions 1. How does your agency conduct fare enforcement? Who conducts fare enforcement? a. On bus b. On rail c. At station 2. What efforts has your agency undertaken to educate the public about paying fares and reducing fare evasion? How have riders responded to these efforts? Have they impacted fare payment and fare evasion? 3. What is the public’s perception of fare evasion? What is the agency’s perception of fare eva- sion? How does the perception of fare evasion influence the perception of safety? And how has this influenced decisions about fare enforcement practices/procedures? A P P E N D I X B Survey Instrument

B-2 Measuring and Managing Fare Evasion 4. What does your agency define as fare evasion? Does your agency classify fare evasion as a criminal or a civil infraction? Has this recently changed? a. What are the escalation steps for repeated fare evasion (e.g., issue warning for first offense, citation for second offense, and with potential for suspension from service)? b. Is the definition of fare evasion as a criminal infraction or civil infraction influenced or established by any local or state legislation? c. What statute or ordinance establishes your agency’s ability to cite and fine fare evaders? d. What are people’s options when charged with evasion? Are there alternatives to paying a fine (e.g., community service)? Are there reduced fines if paid on the spot? e. What is the maximum penalty, and does your agency typically levy this penalty or some- thing lighter? f. What tools are used to ensure collection of unpaid fines? What is the payment rate? 5. What methods (if any) does your agency use to track and measure fare evasion and lost fare revenue? a. Does your agency differentiate between different types of fare evasion (e.g., proof of fare not present, partial fare payment, wrong fare type, etc.)? b. How does your agency measure instances of fare evasion, determine fare evasion rates, and estimate lost fare revenue? c. Are methods to track and measure fare evasion different for bus and rail? 6. What fare enforcement practices and strategies has your agency deployed? a. How are routings or assignments for inspection/enforcement teams set? Are assignments associated with routes/locations with the most evasion or are they assigned randomly to cover the entire service area? b. Does your agency have a target inspection rate (e.g., 10% of riders on proof-of-payment services, set number of riders per day)? c. Has your agency established standard operating procedures for fare enforcement? d. Has your agency implemented any special fare enforcement-related initiatives? e. What has proven successful at reducing fare evasion? 7. Does your agency have an estimate of the cost of fare enforcement? What does your agency include in the cost of fare enforcement (e.g., staffing, training, customer education, infrastructure/hardware/software)? 8. How does your agency staff, hire, and train front-line fare inspection and enforcement personnel? a. Do you use agency staff, contracted security, or contracted law enforcement, including interagency agreements with local police departments or sheriffs? b. How does your agency determine the level of staffing required for fare enforcement? c. If you don’t conduct your own fare inspections/enforcement and/or have your own law enforcement personnel, how do you address staffing levels, training, infraction monitor- ing, or complaints through the contracting process? d. How has the level of staffing been set (e.g., through Board efforts to respond to a per- ceived problem, based on requirements to achieve specified inspection rates)? 9. What infrastructure, hardware, and software has your agency implemented to deter fare evasion and enforce fares? 10. Has your agency encountered concerns or perceptions about equity or racial discrimination in fare enforcement? a. How does your agency measure racial profiling? b. How are demographic data collected? c. How has your agency addressed these concerns, particularly in fare enforcement proce- dures and training? 11. Has your agency experienced legal challenges on the constitutionality of fare inspection? What changes have you implemented in response to these challenges and/or court rulings?

Survey Instrument B-3   12. Does your agency have any other comments or lessons learned on fare enforcement? Would your agency be interested in participating in the next phase of this research project, which would include in-depth onsite interviews? Data Request • Fare policies related to fare enforcement, evasion, and fraud • Standard operating procedures and practices employed in managing fare evasion and enforc- ing fares • Applicable state and local laws and regulations (or citations to them) • Studies conducted by your agency on fare enforcement/evasion • Recent performance report(s) and/or audit(s) on fare enforcement/evasion • Data on types and levels of fare evasion, costs and levels of fare enforcement, and estimated fare revenue loss • Documentation of your agency’s methodology for measuring fare evasion and/or calculating evasion rates and lost fare revenue • Customer education materials and/or information provided with warning/citation • Analysis of any special initiatives undertaken