HOW TO RIDE METRO BUS FREE-JEFF WELCH

*How to Ride Metro Buses for Free « PSTO News 

Metro’s Ride Free Area

Ride Free Area Not Limited to Downtown Seattle
While King County Metro has maintained a “ride free area” (RFA) in the Central Business District (CBD) since 1973, the RFA is slated to come to an end later this year and Metro will begin a universal “pay as you enter” system.  No more will passengers be permitted to board Metro coaches without paying.
So called “fare evasion” is the practice of riding a bus where fares or valid passes are required – without presenting a valid pass or fare.  In some cases the passenger has realized that they left their pass at home, or makes an honest error.  In many more cases however fare evasion is the deliberate act of a passenger wishing to make use of public transportation without paying the fare – either due to inconvenience (I don’t have change right now), entitlement (I pay taxes already), or outright disregard for the law (I just don’t feel like it).

Regardless of the reason given – Metro drivers are instructed (appropriately) to not engage in “fare disputes” with those who fail to present a valid pass or transfer or to pay the correct fare.  A majority of assaults on bus Operators begin as arguments over a passenger not paying the correct fare.  Unfortunately, Metro provides little guidance on how to deal with deliberate fare evaders beyond “state the correct fare – once – and only if you’re comfortable doing so”.  Metro does not instruct Operators (in official policy anyway) on how to deal with passengers who continue to engage verbally, such as insisting that the driver “give permission to ride for free”, or who otherwise demand positive verbal acknowledgement that they may ride for free .
Policy vs. Function
Given that bus drivers are there to monitor fare collection rather than enforce it, and Metro Transit Security has few resources to do system-wide fare collection (as opposed to Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail where fare enforcement is a regular feature and rail Operators are out of the equation entirely), fare evasion is a daily occurrence on all routes throughout King County Metro.  In other words, the net effect is that the RFA isn’t limited to the CBD – it’s County-wide.  It’s 24 hours per day.  And unlike the official policy of ending the RFA in the CBD in October of 2012 – the RFA will continue County-wide indefinitely unless and until the practice of treating fare payment as “optional” is addressed through public education and fare enforcement.
How to Evade – The Verbal Pass
The “verbal pass” is the explanation given to the driver for not having fare, pass, or transfer.  If you wish to board without paying a fare and don’t want to go to the trouble of using a physical “prop” (see following sections), simply tell the driver one of the following:

“Sorry – I don’t have change.”
Don’t worry.  The fact that you are in the retail core and there is a Bartell’s, a McDonald’s, a Starbucks – even a number of banks nearby has no bearing on your ability to ride with this excuse.  Heck – it doesn’t even matter if you wave a big pile of bills in the driver’s face.  It’s clear that you are a poor unfortunate individual who is a victim of a society without proper outlets for breaking large bills into small bills; or the ability to buy an Orca pass thus eliminating the need for change altogether.

“I forgot my pass.”
Probably one of the verbal passes used more legitimately than others.  However – there really is no way to distinguish between someone who lost their pass and someone who just said they lost their pass.  The only legal way to ride a bus is by presenting a valid pass, fare or transfer.  If you went to the store without your debit card – would they let you take the groceries anyway?  Nevertheless, “no fare disputes” applies.

“I just had my wallet stolen.”
The driver won’t let the fact that he/she just saw the customer put their wallet away as they stood at the bus stop; or took it out to dig for a phone number after they take their free seat impact your ability to get to their destination.  No fare disputes.  If the driver forgets – remind him or her.  Use those three words exactly.

“I’m on my way to customer service to buy a pass.”
Even if the customer is headed to Federal Way, or they got off nowhere near any Metro customer service location, this verbal pass works.  Even though “I’m on my way to the bank” would unlikely fly with a cab driver, this verbal pass is effectively legal tender on board King County Metro.

“Sorry, that’s all I’ve got,” or “sorry, don’t have it”
This “verbal pass” involves dropping a few token coins in the fare box to demonstrate an effort, or to simply shrug off the responsibility of paying at all.  Most common form of fare evasion.

The key here is that if a driver – any driver – refuses boarding or in any way gives you a problem beyond “stating the fare once”, simply remind them that Metro policy requires them not to engage in fare disputes.  If the driver refuses to give you a transfer for boarding when you don’t pay or show a pass or transfer – just use the same tactics on your next ride.  Remember – METRO IS (effectively) FREE!!
Props:  The Orca Card
The Orca card is a great tool that has streamlined fare collection, decreased boarding times, and radically enhanced data collection regarding revenue and ridership patterns.  Savvy deliberate fare evaders have also figured out that some flaws in the Orca system – both technological and policy related – can turn an Orca card into a free pass that never expires.

“Broken Card”
As Orca cards are vulnerable to bending and other physical trauma that can damage the RFID chip and/or its fragile antenna inside, Orca cards often wear out due to rough use, or even normal use over time.  Metro Operators are instructed to accept non-functioning Orca cards as “flash passes” – i.e. show it visually to the driver and it will be accepted as a valid fare.  The passenger is then to be referred to Customer Service for a replacement card.  The down side is that these cards can be deliberately disabled or shielded by foil or other metal to cause them to refuse to register on the reader.  The really savvy deliberate fare evader will simply hold their wallet up to the Orca reader several times, tell the driver that their card must be broken (turning the “prop” into a “verbal pass” and ride that way.  Some may display the top quarter-inch of a pass poking out of their credit car holder as evidence that they indeed have a card.

“Insufficient Funds”
This message comes up when the pass on a customer’s card is expired or their e-purse is empty.  It will also come up if not enough time has passed between the customer adding funds or a pass to their card and their connecting to the most current database update on the bus they are boarding (database updates for onboard ORCA systems only occur when the bus returns to base, which may be many hours after the customer added funds online or via phone).  Drivers are instructed to accept “Insufficient funds” cards as “flash passes”, not to demand cash payment if a card scans that way.

Note:  newer Reduced Fare Permits (for elderly and disabled customers) and UW ID cards now have RFID chips in them and function in the same mannger as ORCA.  They can also be similarly abused.
Props:  The Agency Pass
These paper passes are distributed by homeless shelters and other community human service agencies to their clients and are intended for one-day use.  While easy to counterfeit with a color printer, such efforts are often unnecessary (although it has been reported that such counterfeiting has occurred by those wishing to sell such passes).  The pass is supposed to be rejected if the “date valid” does not match the date presented.  Many such passes are given out without any date written on them at all, or the deliberate fare evader simply places their thumb over the date.  Most often, they’re just flashed quickly and the driver never notices – or notices but is following “no fare dispute” protocol and not making an issue of the invalid pass.
I found this pass on board my bus just last week.  It appears to have been in use for over a year, and was left behind on the floor by its user (whom I allowed on without a second glance at the expired pass earlier).
Props:  Tricks with Transfers
Paper transfers are easily the most abused form of deliberate fare evasion.  Many frequent riders (and frequent deliberate fare evaders) save, collect, and even trade transfers with others who have paid their fare or been given a transfer despite not paying a fare.
Transfers change daily, identified mainly by a corresponding letter and color of the day.  The number of colors (and letters obviously) are finite, and the most visible characteristic of any transfer is the color.  Given the speed at which people board and show their transfers, it’s fairly easy to use an expired transfer, a transfer from a different day (same color, different letter) or to put transfers together from two different days for a more sophisticated act of deliberate fraud.  The deliberate fare evader who pefers transfers as props may also simply crumple their pass to the point where it is barely recognizable, or flash the back of the transfer rather than the front:

Each day’s transfer has a different color and letter

The large letter can be concealed by a thumb

Or all letters by a thumb or finger

Expired transfers from 2 different days. . .

Can be combined to make one (apparently) valid one.

Pass crumpled to conceal status of transfer

Or just show the back instead.

Avoiding Hassle. . .for Fare Evaders

The 100% guaranteed way for passengers to avoid problems related to fare payment are to have a valid pass or transfer or pay the correct fare.  Remember – while fare enforcement on board Metro is extraordinarily rare (fare evasion accounts for over $3 million a year in lost revenue to King County), fare evasion remains – at least technically – a crminal misdemeanor  If you are a passenger who prefers not to pay a fare or for a valid pass, it’s unlikely you’ll be penalized for doing so.  Regardless of your technique, if challenged by a bus driver for not paying the proper fare or presenting an invalid pass, be sure and remind them that Metro policy is for them to state the correct fare – ONLY ONCE – and not to engage in fare disputes.  Then have a seat and enjoy your ride!  With any luck (the odds are certainly on your side), you will see absolutely no legal penalty for doing so.

Keep in mind – that we drivers almost always are aware of exactly what you’re doing.  When we don’t stop and challenge you because we’re stupid or inattentive or untrained.  We simply don’t care enough about your insistence on dishonesty to put ourselves in the position of possbily being physically attacked for challenging it.

Avoiding Hassle. . .for Drivers

The (mostly) guaranteed way for bus Operators to avoid conflict with underpaying, non-paying, or openly scamming passengers is to follow Metro policy.  If the customer continues to engage verbally – to try and squeeze permission for a free ride from you, either deviate from official policy and tell them openly that they may ride for free, tell them that if they choose to ride without payment it is their choice, or simply ignore them.  At any rate, arguing with, browbeating, etc. passengers who don’t present the proper fare – those wonderful folk (of all racial and economic backgrounds) who treat fare payment as optional – will get you nowhere.  It might even get you hurt, or in trouble.

So don’t.
-jw

*Despite the title, this article is not intended as a “how to”.   Failure to present a valid pass or transfer is a violation of law, albeit a law that is seldom enforced aboard Metro buses.  It is presented as satire, based on daily observations by bus drivers of passengers who intentionally do not present a valid pass or transfer, or pay the correct fare.

King County policy and County Ordinance provide for both civil and criminal penalties for failing to present a valid pass or transfer; or for refusing to pay the correct fare for rides aboard Metro buses.
As noted in the piece, Metro drivers are directed not to engage in fare disputes with passengers, and are charged at best with monitoring fare collection rather than enforcing it.