Jumping BART’s fare gates rarely results in any consequences — tickets go unpaid

A man jumps the turnstile at the BART station at Civic Center despite gates that were installed (seen at left and right) to deter fare evasion in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. A man jumps the turnstile at the BART station at Civic Center despite gates that were installed (seen at left and right) to deter fare evasion in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2018 Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2018 Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Jumping BART’s fare gates rarely results in any consequences — tickets go unpaid 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BART fare evaders are hopping, jumping and skipping away from paying their fines — more than nine out of 10 of the 6,799 violators ticketed by BART last year have yet to pay up.

And with little or no consequences.

Here’s the story:

BART fare-evasion teams handed out 6,152 tickets to adults at $75 each, and 648 to juveniles at $55 each last year. The total in potential fines was $497,040.

But only 581 of those tagged paid their fines, bringing in $64,574. Almost half of the ticket take went to Data Ticket, the private company that processes the tickets.

Put it all together and BART wound up with just $32,287 from an enforcement program that cost $1.4 million since going into effect in January 2018.

“BART understood at the outset that the cost of the proof-of-payment policy would not be recouped by the citation revenue, but felt the benefit of beginning to effect change in the culture of fare evasion was worth the cost,” BART spokesman Jim Allison said.

For the most part, the tickets are considered civil offenses, meaning there is no criminal penalty for not paying. Repeat offenders can be cited criminally and face bench warrants, but so far that hasn’t happened.

Instead, ticket scofflaws are reported to the state Franchise Tax Board, which has the power to collect the fines by garnishing tax returns or lottery ticket winnings.

“But I don’t think we are going to see too many lottery winners,” BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said.

And, indeed, Franchise Tax Board spokesman Jacob Roper said, the agency didn’t collect any money from BART fare evaders last year.

Whether the enforcement program in its current form will cut down on the $15 million to $20 million BART estimates it loses each year to fare evasion is open to debate.

“I don’t think the answer is to push things into a criminal citation,” said BART Board President Bevan Dufty.

“We need to have riders pay their fares, but criminalizing fare jumpers could deeply impact their lives and affect their ability to find housing or to find a job,” he said. “I don’t think that is what BART’s values are.”

BART Director Debora Allen disagrees.

“If it’s a criminal infraction people would still get a ticket, but repeat offenses would make it a misdemeanor,” Allen said.

“My focus right now is on the fare gates,” Dufty said.

Dufty wants to look at making it more difficult to jump BART’s entrance and exit gates. The estimated cost of “hardening” the gates range from $15 million to $20 million to retrofit them and up to $250 million to replace them entirely.

Allen, however, said BART needs an accurate count of how much fare evaders are costing the system before it looks at spending more money.

“Right now we have no idea,” she said.

Meanwhile, the cost of catching evaders is going to grow as more fare inspectors are hired.

The program, which started with six inspectors, now has 10 and is budgeted to add six more in the coming year, bringing the cost to $2.1 million yearly.

Still, Rojas said the ticket patrols have value outside of handing out tickets.

“One of the effects of the program is putting more uniforms on the trains and platforms, which is what riders want to see,” Rojas said.

And the inspectors see plenty themselves.

“A ticket enforcement team stepped into a train and ran right into a teen who was trying to make his escape after stealing a cell phone,” Rojas said.

The teen and an accomplice were arrested.

In another incident, earlier this month, BART arrested 48-year-old Abdul Khan of Oakland at the Downtown Berkeley BART Station on suspicion of fare evasion. Police then learned he was wanted on a $1 million warrant for a shooting in San Francisco.

And that has to be worth something.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phillip Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier