The cost of jumping a turnstile could soon be much higher. Yesterday the State Senate passed a bill which would allow the MTA to raise the current maximum fine for farebeaters from $100 to $500 and the penalty for not paying from $50 to $100. Suddenly an unlimited Metrocard looks affordable? more ›

We won't need our usual dose of six episodes of Storage Wars and pint of Schweddy Balls to sleep easy tonight: the NYPD collared a subway fare-beater thanks to the assistance of a mechanic. According to the Daily News, police had one cuff on 40-year-old Bolly Camara after they caught him sliding under the turnstile at the 170th Street 4 Train station in the Bronx when he slipped away. Running into the JR Jerome Auto Center, Camara begged 36-year-old mechanic Junior Borgen to remove the cuff with a torch. But instead of aided and abetting Camara, Borgen, an auxiliary cop himself, notified a police van. more ›

Al Capone. Jeff Dahmer. Ted Kaczynski. All subway fare-beaters.* Put aside the fact that jumping the turnstiles is cheaper even if you're caught, and that folks from all walks of life pass through an open emergency exit every now and then. Cheating the MTA is a gateway to a life of inequity and sorrow, or so implies the Daily News' Pete Donahue, who interviewed a 17-year-old freeloader. more ›

Perhaps stoking the fires of mayoral candidacy, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly reacted to yesterday's news that subway fare-beating is the most cost-effective way to commute by calling for lawmakers to raise the MTA's current $100 fine for not paying. "I think the state legislature should consider raising the fine," Kelly told the Daily News, "It would probably be a good idea." OH, SNAP! You hear that, scofflaws? You'll be cowering from the long arm of the law in no time, "probably." more ›

In another dangerous yet vital lesson to our city's youth, it appears that crime does pay. According to an MTA study, fare beaters entered the subway 18.5 million times in 2009, an average of 50,684 times each day. If they're fined $100 every 6-13 weeks, that means the scofflaw is saving $62 based on the price of a weekly farecard. And that was in 2009 dollars! While the Daily News quotes the report as stating, "The basic street economics might explain observed evasion behaviors," we have a more succinct explanation: paying the MTA is for suckers! more ›

Kids ride the subway for free if they're 44 inches or shorter. Apparently that hasn't stopped plenty of taller children from embarking on a life of crime, ducking through turnstiles or opening the emergency gate (which we all know is a capital offense). According to a recent MTA report, 43% of people who skip fares are kids. But it seems that some of the kids' parents are copacetic with their progeny's proscribed behavior. "The MTA's dumb…as long as they don't enforce it, we'll keep doing it," one mother tells the Daily News, perhaps confusing the MTA with The Met: "We pay for every little thing, and the fare is too expensive to begin with. I don't feel guilty." more ›

The fare-beaters really outdid themselves in 2010. They could have just coasted after costing the MTA $8 million in 2009, but last year they went above and beyond, reportedly evading a whopping $14 million in fares. MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz tells us, "Fare evasion is an age-old problem that is expensive for the MTA and for our riders, who end up paying more when some New Yorkers choose to break the law. We will continue to work with the NYPD on cost effective strategies such as targeting high-incidence locations and placing cameras in key areas to combat this problem." more ›

Ah, the NYC bus system, so forgiving of those who don't have change or Metrocards. Perhaps a little too forgiving? Last year bus hopping became all the rage, especially amongst the senior citizen set, and the trend is still going strong. more ›