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Pipes_of_Pan t1_iu5ditb wrote

A lot of people in here think that kids (who ride free anyway) jumping turnstiles is why there is a $146+ million budget shortfall. Y'all think there have been like 70 MILLION free rides!?

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mcsul t1_iu5t1xw wrote

Maybe? $40M is the current estimate. May be lower because kids ride free. May be higher because some wmata people worry that estimates for metro fare evasion are very low.

https://wjla.com/news/local/metro-fare-evasion-deter-wmata-washington-dc-train-free-pandemic-covid19-stations-gates-plans-campaign-silver-line-phase-two-barriers-criminal-crime-arrested-tickets-smartrip-credit-card

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Pipes_of_Pan t1_iu5y3gn wrote

If every single DC student rode Metro to and from school every school day and skipped every fare, it wouldn’t come even close to that number

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Dingle_Berryless t1_iu6a2vg wrote

For the university population of over 70 thousand, data is from 2017, with a minimum fare of $2 and a maximum far of $6 over the course of the 180 day school year there's a possible loss of between $25 and $75 million.

Clearly this estimate is quite believable.

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Pipes_of_Pan t1_iu6eld8 wrote

Every kid rides free, which is why the conversation is silly. Do all the math you want, it adds up to $0 for Metro’s budget

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Dingle_Berryless t1_iu6f7ji wrote

What about university students then? They're students who don't ride free correct? Plus my point wasn't about kid's evading fares they already don't have to pay. I was pointing the monetary loss estimates are believable.

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Pipes_of_Pan t1_iu6fule wrote

Delete all the addition you did for people under the age of 18. They all ride free.

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Dingle_Berryless t1_iu6gnvh wrote

Done, mistake corrected. It's still clear a loss of $40 million in evaded fares is believable.

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