成人X站

Even if you never board a local light rail train or a Sound Transit bus for the rest of your life, each Puget Sound-area family鈥檚 personal share for ST鈥檚 total estimated $100 billion cost will run about $125,000, The Dori Monson Show has calculated.

And now, it might cost taxpayers a whole lot more.

With already lax enforcement on rider fares and blatant disregard for paying fares running rampant throughout the region, Thursday night action by the Sound Transit Board will make it even easier to avoid paying fares.

Why the changes? Dori asked 成人X站 Newsradio transportation specialist Chris 鈥淪ully鈥� Sullivan.

Sullivan: Sound Transit passes fare reform with diminished ridership accountability checks – MyNorthwest.com

鈥淐oncern that they were disproportionately asking for payment from people of color,鈥� Sully explained.

鈥淔or three years, they鈥檝e been looking at how we can adjust our fare system so that it is more equitable 鈥� make it so people can get low-income fares, lower-priced ORCA cards,鈥� he continued. 鈥淲hat they have now created (is a system) that allows people to ride for free if they choose to.鈥�

Bottom line: Sound Transit now projects it will lose about $1.3 billion over the next 30 years at the fare box alone, Sully told Dori鈥檚 listeners.

And that, Dori points out, means the loss will need to be recovered from taxpayers.

Listeners tell Dori they wonder why fare enforcers don鈥檛 for ask for proof of ORCA cards or rider tickets. Can鈥檛 these teams check whether riders have paid? Dori asked Sully.

From a three-year ST study, Sully said, 鈥減eople on the trains said they don鈥檛 feel comfortable seeing King County Sheriff鈥檚 deputies who (were) the fare enforcers. They didn鈥檛 feel safe because it felt like it was the police state. So, they (Sound Transit) kicked (enforcers) off and they created new `fare ambassadors鈥� who basically have no power or authority to do anything.鈥�

Combine that with the new multi-tiered system of warnings and fee structures approved Thursday night, Sully added, 鈥渁nd there is zero way to enforce it.鈥�

These 鈥渁mbassadors鈥� may ask for proof of fare, he continued 鈥� but passengers are not required to show it. And if asked for their ID, passengers don鈥檛 have to show that either 鈥� so there is no way of knowing how many violations a fare evader racks up.

Then why would anyone even think about paying the fare, Dori wondered?

According to Sound Transit studies, 42 to 44 percent of current riders aren鈥檛 even paying the fare now, Sully told him. If you add in frequency of current fare inspection, a typical rider might take 23 trips before they would even see a fare ambassador, the same report shows.

鈥淓ven in New York City they have turnstiles to get on the subway,鈥� Dori said. 鈥淭his is the craziest public transportation system ever.鈥�

Listen to Friday’s edition of Dori’s Big Lead– 成人X站 Newsradio’s Chris Sullivan stops by for the latest on Sound Transit fare enforcement聽

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.