Free Republic

BART’s board of directors voted Thursday to formally oppose a bill in the California Legislature that would decriminalize fare evasion in the state’s public transit systems. The board’s 5-3 vote came after a heated debate among members. Under state law, those who are caught evading a fare three or more times may face a misdemeanor charge, which could result in a fine of up to $400 and a sentence of up to 90 days in jail. If Assembly Bill 819 — introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan — were to pass, the third violation would no longer be classified...

Landing in jail for fare evasion is still possible in Germany. But the coalition government wants to change this, according to a German news report.You may be surprised to know that, in Germany, riding public transport without a ticket — so-called Schwarzfahren — is a criminal offense which can lead to hefty fines and, in extreme cases, up to one year in prison. But according to a report from Der Spiegel, the new German coalition government is now considering decriminalizing riding on public transport without a ticket. According to the report, government officials are examining whether minor offenses such as...

Transport authorities in Austria and Germany have said they are phasing out the term ‘Schwarzfahren’ — which literally translates to ‘riding black’ — to describe fare dodging, over racism concerns. Vienna transit company Wiener Linien said on Friday it had already begun phasing out the term ‘Schwarzfahren’ in order to avoid “misunderstandings”. ÖBB, the company’s Austrian counterpart, said it would do the same. In recent years, the term has become increasingly debated in Austria and Germany, with some saying it has a racist connotation. Instead of using the term ‘riding black’, Austrian officials will use the literal ‘Fahrgästen ohne gültiges...

NEW YORK CITY — Thousands of New Yorkers are expected to barrel into the city's subway system Friday with a single goal in mind: "Think of the ways you can move in affinity to build, and to f--- s--- up," a masked, hooded man with a disguised voice says in a video posted to Twitter this week. "The streets are ours," the Decolonize This Place tweet reads. "The trains our ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours." Jan. 31 will be a day of action to protest the recent increase in New York City cops patrolling the subway...

New York’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Letitia James, is going after . . . law enforcement. On Monday, James said she’s probing the NYPD’s fare-evasion policing for racial bias. It’s a disgraceful pander. “If NYers have been targeted because of the color of their skin, we will not hesitate to take legal action,” she tweeted. Well, sure: If cops were singling out minorities, she’d be remiss not to act. Yet there’s no evidence — none — of such targeting. From October 2017 to June 2019, James notes, minorities got 70% of the fare-evasion summonses and accounted for 90% of arrests,...

The New York Attorney General is probing whether the NYPD has shown “racial biases” against people of color as it polices fare evasion. The investigation was announced Monday just weeks after bombshell testimony from transit cops alleging racist quotas in the subway system and months after a judge ordered the department to publish its transit enforcement numbers — detailed data that still remains secret. “We’ve all read the stories and seen the disturbing videos of men, women, and children being harassed, dragged away, and arrested by officers in our city’s subway system, which is why we are launching an investigation...

A large number of demonstrators showed up in Brooklyn last night to march and hold demonstrations. In recent times, many of the protests we see are demanding action on climate change, equal pay for women or gay/trans rights. This was something different, however. The angry people taking to the streets with banners and signs were there to protest the NYPD. And their message wasn’t very subtle. (NY Post) Close to a thousand anti-police protesters descended on Downtown Brooklyn Friday night, blocking traffic, vandalizing a city bus and shouting obscene insults at NYPD cops.The demonstration formed soon after 7 p.m....

SEPTA is contending with a new kind of fare evasion, in which enterprising scammers are using Key cards to give cash-paying riders a discounted trip on the Broad Street Line and the El. Because SEPTA does not track or estimate revenue losses due to fare evasion, said Rich Burnfield, deputy general manager and treasurer, the agency can’t say whether more people are dodging fares than usual. Cashiers working on the subway lines, however, insist scofflaws are proliferating. […] The latest trend is made possible by the Key card, which offers a $2-per-ride fare, compared with $2.50 for customers paying cash...

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Some feel it is oppressive when police officers in New York arrest people for seemingly minor offenses like cycling on a sidewalk. And although these types of arrests are down dramatically, there is a move in the City Council to decriminalize low-level offenses like littering, fare evasion, public drinking, public urination, cycling on a sidewalk and loitering after hours in a city park. Supporters of the plan say they should be treated like parking violations, not crimes. In Park Slope, just eight people were arrested for sidewalk cycling from 2008 to 2011, but there were more...