Fare evasion leads to lower revenue and higher crime. Two cities have found a way to fight it.
With low demand and high crime having pushed the Chicago Transit Authority into a fiscal crisis, the city must make the system safer and more reliable.
Washington, D.C., and San Francisco show that installing higher barrier gates at train stations can help.
CTA ridership hasn’t recovered since the pandemic — it’s only 74% of what it was before COVID, despite the crisis having long passed. That’s left the system struggling to generate revenue.
Riders continue to cite cleanliness and safety as major concerns. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that CTA employees and passengers have been assaulted at much higher rates than on other transit systems. The Cook County state’s attorney has launched a task force that’s giving more than 30 prosecutors special training in handling CTA crime.
Fewer riders means less revenue, which leads to worse service and conditions, creating a cycle that’s difficult to break. Fare evasion sits at the center of that cycle.
The CTA has implemented new measurement and enforcement efforts and pilot programs, including expanding installation of higher-barrier gates at stations it says “are typically staffed but continue to have high rates of fare evasion.”
San Francisco’s Bay Area Transportation Authority has begun installing higher, more secure gates that are far harder to bypass than traditional designs.
The logic is straightforward: If it’s harder to evade paying the fare, fewer people will try.
The benefits go beyond just collecting more revenue.
As few as 1% of offenders committed more than 60% of violent crime in the U.S., according to one study. Higher gates can help deter many of these potential offenders, leading to declines in crime rates.
A system with fewer fare evaders tends to be safer and cleaner. Upon installing the higher gates, San Francisco saw an immediate and significant reduction in required maintenance from lower fare evasion, making the system much more attractive and cheaper to keep up in the long run.
In July 2023, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority began installing more than 1,200 five-foot-tall fare gates at its 98 Metrorail stations, finishing in 2024. Combined with stronger enforcement, fare evasion has dropped 82% across the Metrorail system.
That matters financially. The transit agency “conservatively estimates” that fare evasion cost it $40 million in 2022.
For Chicago the takeaway is clear: Fare enforcement infrastructure matters.
The CTA has the opportunity to act. The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees finances for the CTA, Metra and Pace, recently got an influx of $1.5 billion. Chicago has the resources to expand higher-barrier gates across the system.
The CTA should pair the higher gates with other proven ways to improve the system, including preventing crime with a higher police presence and stronger enforcement though increased citations.
This isn’t just about stopping people from skipping fares. It’s about improving the rider experience and stabilizing CTA finances without turning to higher taxes or even more bailouts.
If Chicago wants more CTA riders, it needs a system people feel comfortable using and in which everyone pays their share.
