The Class War of Fare-Dodging Crackdowns | The New Republic
Last December, the Washington D.C. Council voted to decriminalize fare evasion, against the wishes of Metro leaders, who warned that the move would produce “significant safety and financial consequences.” Four weeks later, the Metro announced that 2018 had been the lowest year for crime in the system since 2000. In May, a poll was released showing that Metro riders were enjoying the system at a rate nearing their mid-decade peak. That’s not to assume causation with the decriminalization of evasion
The survey result data is also a mixed bag.
The causation would be especially hard to establish considering the decline in 2018 happened before the decriminalization in 2019.