Broken Muni readers can mean unfair tickets

Muni fare inspector J. Colon finishes writing a citation while E. Doan (right) waits to board a 14- Mission bus at Fifth and Mission streets. Muni fare inspector J. Colon finishes writing a citation while E. Doan (right) waits to board a 14- Mission bus at Fifth and Mission streets. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Broken Muni readers can mean unfair tickets 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

Many San Francisco bus riders have encountered a broken fare reader on Muni, with its dismissive beeps and sobering "Out of Service" message.

Among them is Ian Hull, 29. He says he was fined $103 recently after a scanner on a 38-Geary bus failed to accept his Clipper card and a transit officer cited him for fare evasion.

"I remember thinking I should remember what the screen said in case someone tries to give me a ticket," said Hull, who only recalled what the scanner said later, after he came upon a broken one on a different bus.

Since July, 8,700 Muni riders have complained they were wrongly cited for not paying the fare, many times because of broken scanners, according to appeal records. Roughly 175 of the riders succeeded in getting their ticket dismissed.

Transit officials say crackdowns are necessary because they're losing money to freeloaders - as much as $20 million a year.

But some like Hull think the agency should fix problems with its card readers or acknowledge that they don't always work and lighten up on ticketing.

The scanners, which are now installed on all Muni buses, accept a $2 payment from the Bay Area-wide Clipper card in lieu of cash.

Payments are enforced by a team of 54 inspectors that has become more active as the card reader program enters its fourth year. About 55,000 riders have been cited for fare evasion since July.

Citations are appealable to Muni's administrative office.

"The appeal process needs to be changed," said Hull, who regularly rides from the Inner Richmond to downtown, where he transfers to BART en route to his job in Walnut Creek.

"I see a lot of people getting on the bus and not tagging (payment) like they should, so I appreciate (Muni's) efforts," he said. "But in this day and age, I suspect that they must have some sort of record of when the (scanners) work and when they don't work."

It's not that easy, according to the transit agency. Each morning, officials say, crews inspect buses and note whether the fare readers are working. On average, 3 percent are broken, they say.

Should the machines break during the day or malfunction temporarily, there's no record of that.

Inspectors tell passengers that if the scanners don't work, they should pay cash or use a second fare reader that is present on most buses. The problem, riders say, is that not everyone carries cash - exact change is required - while buses are often too crowded for passengers to make their way to another card reader.

"Sometimes I'll walk to the front of the bus if the (scanner) isn't working," Hull said. "But during rush hour there are so many people on the bus that you can't literally get to the front without getting off."

Hull appealed his citation, but his bid was rejected. He decided not to submit a second (and final) appeal.

Of course, many fare evaders are simply trying to evade the fare - and their abundance on a Muni system with 700,000 daily riders has made catching them a priority, said agency spokesman Paul Rose.

The number of riders cited for the offense since the budget year began in July is on pace to match the previous year's 70,000 - and it's up drastically over the prior two years.

Fines from tickets have generated $2.4 million in revenue since July.

Despite the long odds of having a citation dismissed, Rose said the agency tries to be fair in cases where a fare reader may be broken.

"While some people will try to take advantage of the system, we know there are people who are honest," he said. "We're doing our best to accommodate them."

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