QLINE: 17 people ticketed for fare skipping last week

Transit police issued 17 tickets last week to QLINE riders who skipped paying for their rides.

The number represents a ramp-up in enforcement of a Detroit ordinance that was amended last year to include the 3.3-mile streetcar system on Woodward Avenue. Riders had been warned that enforcement was coming, but it was apparently not a reality until earlier this year.

Two citations for fare evasion had been issued prior to last week (Monday to Sunday) and more citations have likely happened since, although those numbers are not yet available. Otherwise, the bulk of the more than 200 citations since the QLINE's launch in May — that number includes the recent ones for fare evasion — have been related to vehicle issues, such as parking on the tracks, according to Dan Lijana, a spokesman for M-1 Rail, the organization that operates the QLINE.

The citations are misdemeanors, which could result in fines of up to $500 or jail terms of as long as 90 days, although a jail stay is probably not likely. The final decision is not made by QLINE staff, however.

"Once the ticket is written, it's in the hands of 36th District (Court) at that point," Lijana said, noting that the QLINE has had people onboard or at stations called ambassadors to offer assistance to riders. "Through 2017 (and continuing now), we had the ambassadors on board consistently and we wanted to give riders every opportunity to ask questions about how to pay. At this point, there really isn't an excuse for a rider to fail to purchase a ticket."

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Lijana said few problems have been reported with the equipment used to purchase fares. Currently, various passes can be purchased online through a mobile app or at station kiosks. Machines on board the streetcars accept cash. A standard three-hour pass costs $1.50 and a day pass is $3.

The city's transit police officers are the only people who can issue tickets. They make random boardings and can ask for proof someone paid to ride or ambassadors have the ability to request assistance through dispatch as well. Dispatchers might also see something over video that prompts action.

The QLINE has had average daily ridership of about 3,000 since the start of revenue service in September, Lijana said.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.