Penalty fare A
penalty fare is a special fare charged at a higher than normal price because the purchaser did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules. Typically penalty fares are incurred by passengers failing to purchase a ticket before travelling or by purchasing an incorrect ticket which does not cover their whole journey. Penalty fares are not
fines, and are used when no legal basis for
prosecuting fare evasion exists, prosecution is deemed too drastic and costly, or is unlikely to result in
conviction.
Forced prepayment for future trips Where possible, requiring a fare evader to
prepay for future trips may serve as an educational penalty to prevent more violations.
Civil and criminal penalties On some systems, fare evasion is considered a
misdemeanor. In such cases,
police officers and in some cases transit employees are authorized to issue
tickets which usually carry a
fine. Then, charged persons can be tried in
court. Repeat violators and severe cases, such as ticket forgery, are punished more severely and sometimes involve
incarceration. Wealthy offenders sometimes face stiffer penalties than poorer offenders. The
MBTA apprehended vandals damaging AFC equipment while evading, and published the video footage. In December 2018, the
Council of the District of Columbia voted to decriminalize fare evasion. Prior to decriminalization, over 90% of citations and summons for fare evasion were issued to African Americans. Fare evasion in Washington, D.C., is now a civil offense with a $50 fine, rather than a criminal offense with up to 10 days in jail and a $300 fine. ==See also==