Tag Archives: Fare Enforcement

News

Legislation Eliminates One Objection to Sound Transit Fare Enforcement Reform

April 4, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Erica C. Barnett

(This article was originally published by PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

Legislation that would make it easier for Sound Transit to adopt a fare enforcement system that does not involve the court or criminal justice system is coasting through the state Senate after passing the House on a near-unanimous bipartisan vote.

House Bill 1301, originally sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-34, Seattle), gives Sound Transit the authority to create an “alternative fare enforcement system” that could include resolutions other than fines for people who fail to pay their fare. The State Senate Transportation Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to move the bill to the Rules Committee, the final step before a floor vote.

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Voices

OPINION: No One Should Go to Court Because They Can’t Afford a Transit Ticket

December 16, 2020 Editor Leave a comment

by Rich Stolz and Anna Zivarts

Following years of local advocacy and heightened scrutiny by the movement for Black lives around enforcement practices, Sound Transit has announced a new approach to fare enforcement on public transit: the fare ambassador pilot program. This pivot from a punitive system to a supportive one is long overdue. Sound Transit and other agencies must see this process through and fully divorce its transit fare system from the court system. Failure to pay for a transit ticket — whether due to poverty or misunderstanding — should never place transit riders at risk for devastating legal, financial, or physical harm.

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News

King County Metro to Resume Collecting Fares Without Enforcement on October 1

September 30, 2020 Editor Leave a comment

by Jack Russillo

After suspending fares in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, King County Metro will resume collecting fares on Thursday, October 1.

All county transit services — including buses, Access paratransit, Vanpool, and Via to Transit — will be requiring full fares. Fare collection is already taking place on Sound Transit Express buses and Link light rail. Like all Metro employees, Metro requires all riders to wear a face covering, as does Sound Transit. Per state public health guidelines, all trips should be for essential reasons only.

Metro has also suspended fare enforcement at least through the end of 2020. Fare enforcement officers will still be a presence around transit stops, but they will be providing a broader range of customer services, like answering transit or safety questions.

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News

Black Friday Fare Strikers Protest Against Enforcement Policies

November 30, 2019 Editor Leave a comment

by Alex Garland

Shouts of, “Nobody pays!” and “Black Friday deal, 100 percent off Light Rail fare!” could be heard as the doors opened at light rail stops from Mt. Baker to the University of Washington, when between 30 and 40 activists took their fight against what they considered to be class warfare on Nov. 29. Continue reading Black Friday Fare Strikers Protest Against Enforcement Policies →