You're dead on. NYPD is entirely useless. I've had to call them before due to violent fights outside my door, they called back 3 hours later asking if the fight was still happening.

I know someone that grew up in LA. Their childhood home was demolished and turned into an extra lane for the freeway.

Same in Oslo. No turnstiles, you are just expected to have a valid ticket, (mainly digital) within the zone. And you can get checked at any time

Mass transit should be free and not have ads on it.

In fact, all advertising in public spaces (including things like billboards mounted on private property but aimed towards the street) should be prohibited.

Is the ad revenue on mass transit actually high enough to support its operation?(ignoring even maintenance or expansion, or the replacement of unrepairable vehicles)

I was going to say it is a socialized transit program, but apparently the NYC MTA is a "public benefit corporation," aka the bog standard neoliberal privatization fetish that oh-so-accidentally serves to funnel wealth to the C levels and boards.

I feel like you can make that case about sooo many 'crackdowns' because of the way crime statistics and reporting is done in America. But if that was true we'd eventually have declining violence rates in the face of over militarized police where the media focuses on spectacles of violence to justify the spendings. Good thing thats not what's happening right now /s.

At the same time, $150 million could fund a shitload of free or discounted rides for poor people if it was administered as a social program with the same decrease in fare skipping.

Right... But they spent $89m to prevent 104k in shrinkage...

If you're the executive at Walmart who handles loss prevention, and you put $89m into a program that reduces shrinkage by $104k, your new duty position becomes "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out". It's a gross mismanagement of public money, and while it was obviously glowed up considerably, that was what was implied In the title.

The lack of a comparison in overall losses specific to skipped fares before and after is a contemptible omission though, I'll definitely join you on that hill :)

Of the estimated $690 million annual loss, buses accounted for the largest share with $315 million, subway evasion cost $285 million, about $46 million was due to drivers avoiding tolls and commuter rail evasion totaled $44 million, the report said. Source

Subway losses were $285 mil (41% of the total you quoted) and "the state reimbursed the city for about $62 million" of the $151 mil OT pay (leaving $89 mil).

Overall, there were 48 fewer serious crimes like murder, rape and robbery reported in the subway system this year than in 2022, according to NYPD data. The biggest change was 65 fewer reported robberies, where someone stole property by using force or the threat of force. There were also seven fewer reported rapes this year and four fewer murders, according to the newly released data shared with Gothamist. Assaults were an exception, rising by 5%. There were 26 more assaults this year than 2022, according to data. Source

So numbers are the same.

And then there's this gem ...

The vast majority of New Yorkers ticketed and arrested for fare evasion this year – 82% and 92% respectively – were not white, according to NYPD data. That’s a pattern that’s stayed consistent since 2017, when the NYPD first started publicly reporting fare evasion arrest data. Black New Yorkers are 10% more likely now to be ticketed for fare evasion than they were six years ago.

Tell me again how "good" the NYPD is.

Cool, so the city paid for 4 people to sit and watch a turnstile for who knows how long to prevent, what, $100, $1000 in lost revenue?

It costs them $50/hr per cop (roughly). Is the argument really that this squad is stopping more than 60 people every hour from skipping fares?

I've seen no less than eight cops hiding around the corner from an open emergency door at Times Square. They truly are terrible.

No, they would still have missed out on those 104k - but they would have saved 150M. That's .... yeah. A lot of school lunch meals.