NYC losing hundreds of millions as commuters jump turnstiles, refuse to pay for subway

[@faunivore9485]

Bus drivers in my city are told NOT to do anything if someone refuses to pay the fare. Don’t confront them, don’t ask them to leave, just let them sit down and keep driving your route. The bus system wants to avoid potentially violent altercations, and bus drivers certainly didn’t sign up to endanger themselves so… nothing happens to fare evaders. I guess people have learned that they can get away with it.

[@hydra3693]

Santiago right? That city is so full of evaders and they get free rides off their fancy bus network when they have the option to pay a 2 way trip with cards while we in the other cities have to pay cash for one way trips in unreliable obsolete buses that are always crammed full. Then they also add salt to the injury by complaining.

[@derek20la]

Los Angeles Metro as well. Drivers are told to quote the fare once but keep the bus moving

[@tbqhwyf]

The bus should be free to ride anyway. In my city (not in the USA) there's people hired to verify payment by making you show your ticket to them. If you don't have a ticket, you pay a $10 fine. They aren't always in the bus, only get on the bus, check the tickets, leave and get on another bus the next stop. It's always a surprise when you see them. It seems to work very well, haven't ever seen anyone not pay for a bus ticket. And our crime rate is comparable to the US if not higher.

[@larrybills5840]

Ok?

[@derek20la]

@@tbqhwyf Anyplace with a $10 fine will not be in the West. Meaning the logistics of providing a transit service is much simpler. In the US, labor (driver & maintenance) is the biggest single cost for transit agencies. Some contract out to private operators (MV Transit), but most are directly hired and are unionized municipal employees. Public employees are entitled to paid sick/vacation days, health insurance coverage, and vestment in the state retirement system. Drivers making $63k a year with $15k in additional benefits adds up quickly. Also our environmental regulations, especially in crazy California. Often times a middle-aged bus will be retired from service and sold off, rather than go thru the cost of the overhall needed to meet emissions standards. But down in Tijuana where the bus ends up, none of that matters. Also liability. Any injures that occur while on transit property - regardless of whose fault it is, but especially if the agency is responsible - result in large cash settlements. Paid for by who? The taxpayers of course!

[@stew6662]

When I was in New York, a couple months ago, we had to jump the turnstile, but it wasn’t because we didn’t want to pay. It was because our metro cards did not work half the time and to get a replacement is ridiculous. You have to mail the card back instead of going to a window. When you are only there for a few days it doesn’t help.

[@Eatm3]

I’m proud of you as a New Yorker for making that split second decision 😂

[@TuMalditaMadre]

I've never had a MetroCard do that before

[@afridgetoofar1818]

New York is a disaster of a city. A shell of a once great town.

[@pimas11]

I’ve had a lot of people open the emergency door for me lol

[@Tempusverum]

Same. Scanners ignored the card when I was visiting, so emergency exit it is

[@Kallipolis7]

I lived in Japan for 3 years and don’t remember a train being more than 1 minute later ever. I took thousands of train rides. The buses were even on time. I would probably lose my mind in New York because I have been spoiled by the Tokyo Transit System.

[@prentfaiyaz]

Omg my comment was after visiting Japan, the MTA should be free. Lol

[@Kallipolis7]

@@prentfaiyaz 😂

[@estuardo2985]

nice things can be had for all when it isn't ruined (and allowed - and now even encouraged) by not nice people.

[@AdamsDuhStuff]

Japan actually locks their criminals up.

[@badxradxandy]

Demographics matter

[@PeterManzano]

I know a worker who has worked for years in the MTA. He has told me how they waste so much money every year. Buying new Snow plows when they already have 4 at the depot. Refurbishing super old buses at 3 times the cost of a new bus only to retire it 4 months later. It is honestly crazy.

[@Demopans5990]

Massive bureaucratic structures are the cause of most problems at NYC. At some point, NYC should just be a separate administrative zone with it's own separate city laws from the rest of NY, saves on the tax paperwork, and the city gets to pursue policies that only would work when you cram 8 million people together. It's already the case for city gun control (hint: NYC doesn't recognize NY gun licenses)

[@Dan01-01]

All the waste is just another way of laundering money. They inflate the necessary costs of maintenance and increase the number of items above the necessary so that they can squeeze in a few more "dimes" within the acceptable margin of error

[@Eric_X]

@@Dan01-01 honestly, new york politics just sounds like a huge money laundering scheme.

[@visigoth2020]

it is money-making from all corners, refurbishing $$$ retired $$$ sold to third world country $$$.......I can not understand how the F a fare cost 2.75 dollars here in the Dominican Republic it cost 20 pesos or 36 cents of a dollar. stop paying them F.

[@derek20la]

​@@visigoth2020Low wage labor, less stringent regulations, less paranoia over liability. Unionized labor is expensive (MTA subway drivers make anywhere from $63k to $110k a year). States like California have strict exhaust emissions standards, meaning it's often cheaper to retire a middle-aged bus than to do a complete overhaul. But down in Tijuana none of that matters. And finally, if a passenger is ever injured while on the system - and especially so if it's MTA's fault - a personal injury lawyer will quickly win them a nice fat settlement $$.

[@zaczone367]

Live in the tristate area and I’m a railroader. It’s well known within a year of work that the worse you are at your job, the more they promote you. And the people at the top, either never ran trains or were awful at it. Your tax dollars at work ladies & gentlemen!

[@QueenAleenaFan]

It seems to be a rule any more that they never trust a field person in an office position. Even though the field person knows what goes on in the field and can translate that knowledge into proper management.

[@fourthquartersports7571]

It’s called Cronyism, giving your corporate and college buddies jobs despite being super unqualified. Happens all the time in politics

[@julieweiner1623]

Exactly like the U.S. government

[@jasonbourneistreadstone]

NYS too. Not just the city. I quit and moved on with my life.

[@Bennysol]

@@QueenAleenaFan office people are just clicky hoghschool mentality losers

[@davidnikoloff3211]

I was visiting my daughter in NYC last month. We went thru a gate entering the subway. Once, twice, three times. I told my daughter I had my Visa and I’d pay from them on. She told me, “Don’t worry, we haven’t paid yet today.” I never knew we just bypassed thr turnstiles using the “emergency” gate. 400,000 is a low figure.

[@denniscole5105]

Thief!

[@agamerjourney9146]

Very low when realize how many people use the subway.

[@dianebrady6784]

Wow. .that's some kid you raised.

[@Drewpost19]

@@dianebrady6784 😂

[@ChromisPasqueflowerBowerbird]

@@dianebrady6784 Smart kid

[@Oskiirrr]

I was in New York for a week in 2018 and the most vivid memories I have are of the subway and trains. You have these systems built out about a hundred years ago that an incredible amount of people rely on but it seems that they haven’t bothered to maintain, or even clean them in a hundred years either.

[@MontegaB]

lol that's pretty accurate

[@LizardVideoDude]

Sad but true. This country did amazing things building massive infrastructure many decades ago. ... And then just let it decay and rot with no continued investment.

[@BB-nn9en]

@@LizardVideoDude can’t afford the handouts and maintenance

[@Tonixxy]

​@@LizardVideoDudeyou mean when country was 90% white?

[@tubester4567]

This is all related, not paying fares, shoplifting and looting, not charging people with crimes. Let's be real we're talking about mostly black people. This is what happens when you create a false narrative of victimhood. These black activists get on the TV still claiming they are oppressed. Its a scam and the Democrats created this environment.

[@jagriffin1]

I find it incredible how the city can allow so many people to jump it so easily and not care. Yet somehow they decided you owed them millions…

[@ArkienII]

It's because the city doesn't run the MTA; it's run by an independent board which was charted at the state level. If they don't live in the city or use the system they just see it as a cost to be cut rather than a useful system.

[@M4TTYN]

Well i'm sure they'll revampt the turnstiles with the OMNY being the main way of paying. but as us new yorkers do we'll find a way.

[@marcodarko6941]

Louis is white, a nice looking, straight man and fairly successful of course they wanted to put the screws to him and shake him down. If he was the complete opposite, the moment the complaint was brought up to the city for wrongful targeting that sht would have been wiped off the books in no time flat.

[@Notme-tq4xs]

@@marcodarko6941 Reparations they owe

[@nathaingalt8623]

Should see some videos on the jumpers. So many people have that down to such an art, you can't even tell unless you have an unobstructed view and you're looking right at them. Kind of neat to see

[@Olav3D]

The condition of the NYC subway is so bad and worn out. Here in Oslo it is much better. Same with cities like Tokyo and Shanghai. New York is too wealthy for that disgrace of a subway.

[@PeterBrockie]

What amazes me about the MTA is that even when they do spend money on upgrades and repairs, it's still a total screw up. They did major upgrades to the stations in Astoria on the N/W line and it's amazing how they managed to close the stations for months and months only to have them immediately flood the inside areas every damn time it rains! Not only that, they did all these upgrades and didn't add elevators - if you're going to rip apart a station, make the damn thing accessable for people.

[@nojoy7238]

I moved out of Astoria right when covid started. it's dead. it will never be the nice neighborhood it used to be

[@jboss1073]

What amazes me about statists is that they expect government workers to work for them.

[@ragepig1059]

🤣 "what amazes me" stfu

[@Notme-tq4xs]

Do you vote democrat? why?

[@notubist]

Public transit should seek to break even though as secondary economic effects cause the city to profit.

[@safehaven3949]

I worked for the MTA in IT department in 2021. They are so wasteful…it is sickening!

[@sharrieffsaalakhan3230]

Any indication of any proposed hazard pay for the people working in the Pandemic? Or the 200 plus employees who died ?

[@mahamedjama8156]

How about the fact that MTA suburban passenger get 7 dollars subsidy per ride? That is the elephant in the room. Ever since they got rid of the the commuter tax which was a pittance The average NYC transit rider is subsidizing those suburban riders to the tune of billions of dollars a year. The MTA is LIRR plus Metro North plus Bridges and tunnels plus NYC transit which comprises of NYC subways and buses NYC transit is the only profitable entity in the entire MTA system. Bridges and tunnels with their EZ pass system steal millions of dollars from New Yorkers. Booho cry me a river!!! The MYA exaggerates not only those fare evasions figures but is well known to have two sets of books. NYC Transil should be a separate entity owned by and managed by NYC.

[@Strideo1]

Being wasteful with public money is basically corruption.

[@MsBlogMe]

Tell us more!

[@igrewuponsupernintendo]

As someone who has lived in NYC from 1980-1986, 2002-2005, you are a wise man, Louis. I love your videos.

[@gaozhi2007]

I'd love to hear about what NYC was like in the 80s.

[@Mrbfgray]

This is to be expected for any non-competitive government system.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

​@@gaozhi2007 well, I'm not as old as him, but I do remember going to see a buddy down there in 88-90 and getting off the train in Grand Central,meeting up with him and getting out and walking around the corner and going in a bodega and buying a beer. I was like 19. From what I hear, the seventies were really wild! Peep show booths and whatnot in times square.

[@Leo-sd3jt]

@@Mrbfgray Look how Apple and other companies try to be competitive: they make proprietary connectors and try to lock you into their system so they can raise prices and make a higher profit. How does this tie into the subway? Simple! When NYC had multiple private companies running the subway, they each made the track width and platform length incompatible with their competitors. There's a reason everything got unified.

[@harcoom]

I will also say that I think it is a problem that when fare evaders DO get caught and given a ticket, that money goes to the police budget as opposed to the MTA budget. How does that solve anything?

[@PostNuttClarity]

It will deter people from jumping and they will pay instead.

[@dereksbooks]

I agree with Louis. Everyone should refuse to pay. Why should law abiding citizens subsidize the system for criminals? You're a sucker if you play by the rules.

[@TPrivate]

@@dereksbooks Someone I know who isn’t me takes the bus multiple times a day every day and doesn’t pay a dime, just says “hello how are you” to the bus driver and sits down. They push their little button and continue driving. Remember, “Assaulting a Bus Operator is a felony”

[@ThoraeJenkins]

@@PostNuttClarity hahahahhhhahahahahhahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaah They don't pay the fines, and keep not paying their fare.

[@waltermh111]

@TPrivate And your point is why Louis is wrong. No people are avoiding pay because they need to buy food. They avoid it because the city lets so many get away with it. If you find that you dont have to pay, why would anybody? I have seen so much. If the trains were so bad, and he thinks people dont pay because of the quality, I dare you ask most jumpers why they do it. That isnt why. It isnt because they can only afford the train or a meal either. Its because they can. But the fact is, if the train system is so bad and you want it fixed? Just dont use the train system. Cutting off funds through theft wont teach them anything because they still have to pay for everything, including repairs. But if you just dont use the system at all, then they will realize the quality is the problem and find a way to fix it to entice people to use it again. Again, as long as people keep using the system, they will think its not about quality because people are using it after all.

[@solderbuddy]

How cold anyone dislike this video. This man speaks the truth. Those MTA stations are filth, PATH isn't any better. Also remote jobs are already killing their system

[@chaoswolf9452]

I was in Australia last year in a place called Perth, I was shocked that alot of the bus routes were just free of charge, alot of the high traffic zones, and on top of that their was free wifi everywhere, they retrofitted all their old phone booths to support it, it was honestly a shock, and in the two months I was their I think I saw like 3 potholes, the whole experience has me wondering what is going on over here in California with the infrastructure.

[@jbmp1390]

It's called white supremacist Republicans who've been slowly destroying this country since Reagan. Our country has plenty of money. But most of it doesn't get anywhere near the things it's supposed to be used for. It goes into the pockets of those corrupt Republicans, and plenty of the democrats too. This happens at all levels of society, all the way up to the Senate down to your local shit kicking sheriff.

[@ruthho524]

No vegemite in your stores mate

[@insanemang9983]

It's called politicians lining their pockets with tax payer money

[@chaoswolf9452]

@@ruthho524 honestly I really miss timtams and meatboxes, they don't have stuff like that out here T^T and the boxed coffee over their is the best

[@chaoswolf9452]

@@insanemang9983 Yee, sadly

[@raccoonofmotivation20]

A famous game dev once said "piracy is usually a convenience problem, not a money problem" Likewise, more people would probabaly not jump the train fare if the trains and the subway system weren't fucking shit.

[@DeezNuggz]

I torrent games to fuck over the devs I don't like 😂

[@ovencore2549]

​@@DeezNuggz doesn't do anything either 1 you don't buy the game the dev gets nothing or pirate the game the dev gets nothing if you want to harm the game just get it and hack

[@DeezNuggz]

@@ovencore2549 I don't care THAT much

[@garfreld]

@@DeezNuggz The issue with that is that piracy isnt actually theft, so literally nothing happens when you pirate from bad devs lol.

[@DeezNuggz]

@@garfreld epic self like bro

[@uatihb]

"You can get to any part of the city for a few dollars... I like the fact that NYC has a subway" ... literally every single citizen of major European city was like "huh?"

[@SwiftySanders]

Seriously. I was in London recently and was blown away by how amazing their train systems were. They also had better bike infrastructure to boot.

[@richiehoyt8487]

Living in Dublin, I certainly went "Huh?!" - But not for the reasons you are averring to! (At a million and change people, ok, we're not in the Paris/London/Istanbul/Moscow league, but there are plenty of cities of our size, or smaller, that have a metro/underground system.)

[@amikkelsen]

A lot of cities have zone pricing. The longer the trip the higher the fare. Subways in NYC don’t.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@richiehoyt8487 Around here we finally started work on our system in the late '90s and right now it's basically one line that goes past the airport and nearly to the city limits on the opposite side. Even just one line like that makes a massive difference in terms of how long it takes people to get around. The one dumb thing is that they didn't include must room for expansion of the train sizes. They just build the stations large enough for 4 cars, which means that if we need 5 or more cars at some points, we can't do that, and during peak hours we're already running the trains every 15 minutes, which doesn't leave much for expansion.

[@alvarojneto]

My biggest shock when living in Washington DC, as a European, was the fact that they called their public transportation system "high quality".

[@infosyphongaming4309]

If your tax dollars goes to fix and/or maintain something that something should be free to use, we are already paying for it.

[@ThecatThecat-hq1op]

Sometimes tax is used to create infrastructure that is then sold to private organizations. In those cases we still end up having to pay to use the service.

[@yuvilio]

Thank you for covering this underreported phenomenon, especially with the MTA about to increase the fare rates on labor day. They're asking honest folks to pay for the others, and further eroding this transit system.

[@CONNECTELECTRIC]

DEY *TUUk MER JERB* at WAWA! ....... Da *GUBBERMINT!*

[@TheCastedone]

It's terrible in DC too

[@chrisrageNJ]

You're never going to win. Just join the dark side

[@andreaam805]

they’re asking people w money to spare for transit fares to pay for the poor which is totally fair. The poor deserve to be able to move too.

[@spidermonkey8430]

@@andreaam805 what if ur poor but also a honest person ?

[@vevvenennevvev5945]

Louis your take on this issue put a big smile on my face, because I couldn't agree more. It truly pains me when people pretend that fair skippers are the problem when the real problem is, as always, the inefficient modernist bureaucracy and its completely predictable downstream results.

[@user-nh7my6gg5b]

DC too! It's horrible and the kiosk workers either willfully ignore it or outright assist them by keeping the gates open. And I see entire families evading fares! Ever since 2020 the fare evasion has gotten out of control, and I see more and more delays and single-tracking, more garbage, more weirdos terrorizing passengers. I sometimes feel like a clown for being the only one using my card when no one else is!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

I am not so pleased that fare evasion happens frequently on Metrorail. I am in New York and took occasional visits to the [Washington] Metrorail as my favorite attraction. In New York City, fare evasion has gone way out of style. In that case, New York City is not alone. Not only it happens in this country; fare evasion is a worldwide thing.

[@Xaivin]

You're not going to ever go back to "Pre-Pandemic" levels when everyone was forced to go remote and now after 3 years, there's no reason to go back to an office aside of pretending companies are not stuck in leases that they'd break in a heartbeat if they could.

[@ben1777]

Exactly. We didn't pick this, it was forced upon us by bureaucrats in the federal government. Take the dysfunction up with them... oh wait you can't they all retired. Better luck next time!

[@areguapiri]

Scamdemik

[@henryvirgil8188]

The Takeaway : I think that former MTA president Andy Byford realized that the gross incompetence is the sole reason for the transit system's problems and eventually left abruptly after 3 short years.

[@elimgarak1127]

Taxpayer funded transport doesn't work in diverse societies. Ever.

[@HarisMalik-lh5nj]

@@elimgarak1127 wrong

[@robo1p]

@@elimgarak1127 London

[@JollyOldCanuck]

Andy Byford helped make Toronto's public transit system financially viable. He had the TTC charge the third highest public transit fares in the world to do it but the system is functional and fiscally sound.

[@Stealth86651]

Incompetence *and* corruption. The corruption is a huge part of it as well unfortunately. The problem is, as you mentioned, anyone half-intelligent will either stay far away or quit working for the local government quickly because who would want to work with people like that? Anyone with a leadership position and skills has so many other opportunities there's probably a handful of actually decent people working high up in the local government at most.

[@CZpersi]

I was only couple of days in New York, but what immediately catched my attention was the incredible heat, smell and noise of the subway system. And the rats. Enjoying themselves freely among the rails, not letting themselves disturbed by passing trains or staring passangers. This is something I have not seen before as most European metro/subway systems are very clean, cold and quiet. In Prague, we do not have turnstilles. We instead rely on ticket inspectors and wide, accessible options of paying the fare, including SMS messages, or any debit card. Europe also has a slightly different approach to public transit in that the cities are willing to operate it even at the price of loss, since it repays itself in lower wear and tear of public roads and lesser need for parking and car infrastructure.

[@augustojoseramonpinochetug5235]

Prague is not too ‘diverse,’ thus has far more order/less crime/and I’d imagine is a much nicer place to live

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

But that would require taking governance seriously. The USA has long derided the whole notion of governing well for the ordinary American working class, and so it has private affluence (for the few) with public squalor (for the many).

[@ambiarock590]

And money that people aren't paying in fares are likely to go back into local businesses and thus taxes.

[@USAbLaSt]

They want "pre-pandemic" levels? I was told there is a "new normal". THIS IS IT folks.

[@seanC3i]

I visited NYC for a couple of days last year. I didn't see that much craziness, but one time I was going into the subway there was a guy looking for passers by to give him a swipe in past the fare gates. When I didn't give him one (because my temporary metrocard only had 1 or 2 rides left on it) he just jumped over the gates. And I'd only used the subway a handful of times. This kind of thing must be rampant.

[@warsh1p234]

bums asking for swipes or selling swipes? yeah they normal. Pay them no mind

[@agamerjourney9146]

@@warsh1p234 yeah pay them no mind.

[@thisguy1664]

@@warsh1p234 I suppose anyone asking for help is a bumb

[@streetscience8646]

This guy gets it

[@Sound557]

Just compare NYC’s subway cars to Japan’s. It’s night and day because people over here can’t behave themselves and the government doesn’t care to fix anything.

[@leonardonetagamer]

Thank God, id rather live with an irresponsible govt than an overbearing one.

[@roybobxiv8996]

Homogenous nation Vs an abomination fair comparison 😂

[@philosophicalthirstworms6645]

@leonardonetagamer the government in Japan is not overbearing at all. Americans are just incredibly atomized bugmen that can only see themselves as economic units.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@leonardonetagamer what about an overbearing AND irresponsible govt? Because that's what NY is

[@DeezNuggz]

japan is racially homogeneous, wonder if that plays a part 🤔🤔🤔

[@ablebaker8664]

It's almost as though theft has negative effects. Who knew that refusing to enforce the law, encourages people to ignore the law?

[@Occiderian]

Tbh, I live in Austria and we don't have any security at all. Still 98% of people pay their ticket. The ticket for a year is about 400$ and the fine for getting catched without a ticket is about 100$. I'd say is more of a political issue. Specially if it's true that the time between subways is over 30 minutes.

[@addajjalsonofallah6217]

​@@Digger-Nick it's not the black you get this issue with any minority even if they are the same skin color as you

[@Digger-Nick]

@@addajjalsonofallah6217 What are you talking about? An extremely small portion of our population is responsible for the MAJORITY of murder and gets arrested for over half of it, that's not even including other crime. Literally no other group even comes close lmao. They are the biggest problem in the country that nobody wants to address.

[@yuridavila6095]

​@@OcciderianWhat is the percentage of white people where you live? Multicultural ratio is the biggest indicator of lawlessness.

[@Occiderian]

@@yuridavila6095 to be precise, there is a subway only in Vienna and Vienna is extremely multicultural. Again, it's a political issue. If the metro would be a "non-profit" and subsidised so that a ticket is so cheap that riding the metro without a ticket is just dumb, people would gladly pay. Our politicians fight for the "1€ per day" policy. It's even cheaper if you are working a low-income job or are a student. Also on average you wait 3-6 minutes on a subway. Ohhh, wait, the worst thing for America is the "evil socialism", you probably have to blame other cultures, instead of blaming the system that enables such an massive miss-managing. Edit: just googled it, about 45% have a migrant background

[@lcfflc3887]

MTA sucks i watched them raise the fair every other year for over a decade while their efficiency became worse, such bullies, thank God i don't live in New York anymore, such expensive hell hole of a city.

[@smashball]

Subway is no fun at all when you are forced to take it every day. Being squashed on the 4 train combined with delays, crazy and/or aggressive people (and also you can get in one of the cars without AC and a nasty smell) took such a toll on my mental health. The mta was supposed to fail and be replaced or forced to completely revamp a long time ago. They need to fix it. I hope no one ever has to experience hour long delays stuck in a hot train in between stations

[@hunterxcraft8328]

If u are ever stuck on the train u best hop off and start walking cause we know nyc gonna take they time getting u help

[@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920]

i think this is why the city won't ever build the bike highway as proposed by the RPA because we'd all be riding bikes and the subway would be empty.

[@whatevergoesforme5129]

@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 Hmmm, well I thought that with the attacks on cars and the push for '"green" energy, bike lanes are going to be the future, not only in NYC but also in other cities that they want to be 15-min. cities?

[@SuperFlashDriver]

If you think New York Subways are worse, Japan's subways are three times worse, with crammed people every morning in some of those trains that train cars weren't made to fit that many civillians.

[@krozareq]

@@SuperFlashDriver They can be at certain times in Japan but at least the people there believe in hygiene and decency. Was some issue with girls getting groped but they've really cracked down on that.

[@anthonynelson6671]

It's very refreshing to consistently hear from somebody who is so very tethered to reality as you are Louis.

[@elimgarak1127]

He's been slowly waking up to reality that conservative minds on KZbin have been pointing out since 2010. That's not grounded, his eyes are finally opening up to the problem now that he had to escape it.

[@jboss1073]

It's funny watching a Jay, Ee, double you, realize everything that gent isles have already realized.

[@AVikingNerd]

@@JackFate76 True, I wish he'd just move on. He left NY for better prospects, but can't seem to get his mind off it. Doesn't seem all that healthy.

[@ViburaBlanca]

@@AVikingNerd I mean he used to live there all his life, and to the rest of us its good content. Don’t see a problem with that at all.

[@AVikingNerd]

@@ViburaBlanca It just seems like someone who can't get over his ex and keeps checking in on them, it's feels out of place. Would rather actually see repair content or right to repair content. Kinda what his channel is about after all.

[@ovrxpsd]

i visited New York for the first time a few weeks ago and i loved the subway system. it's so convenient but i did notice a lot of people not paying. there was also so many people that would open the emergency door exit and at least 20 people would go through it as the loud alarm was blaring in my ear. hahaha it was such a crazy experience, but i didn't know it was normal.

[@captainkeyboard1007]

You live and you learn. These are not the "old" days where people were more polite and well-mannered, even in outward appearance.

[@profatgamer]

I have taken the trains all of my life here and i agree with everything you just said. I cant tell me how many times I just got out of work and the 4 or the 6 trains had problems and were delayed by an hour or 2 and when they werent delayed there was always someone yelling, trying to start a fight, wating some smelly food while the trains are packed. Thankfully I can take the metro north now and it is a night and day difference. If the other trains ran like the metro north I would not have an issue with them.

[@Notme-tq4xs]

Quality of people in NY is low.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@Notme-tq4xs There was an experimenter, John B Calhoun, who came up with the concept of behavioral sink to explain how populations that are overcrowded turn against each other resulting in mass deaths, cannibalism and population collapse. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink

[@lememe9781]

@@Notme-tq4xs Very true

[@HajongLee]

I just moved to NYC two weeks ago from Korea (which for reference has one of the best public transportation systems in the world). I was SHOCKED to see how, what was supposed to be one of the most developed cities in the U.S., had SUCH EXPENSIVE public transportation that looked like it got its last update 50 years ago. I need to take the subway (Q line) everyday to and from work. I have never been this hypervigilant in my entire life. Every single ride, I see or experience something scary or shady. Or they literally just emergency stop in the middle for some odd reason. Also, every time I use it, I see at least 20 people either jumping the turnstile or going through the emergency door that someone had opened from the other side. I thought there was a legitimate reason for it (cuz they were literally doing it in front of the station managers) but then my friend told me the illegal riding is practically a meme in NY. Since your last community post, I have seriously been looking into just purchasing an e-bike.

[@FrenchUncleLou]

“I just moved to NYC two weeks ago” So sorry to hear that 😢

[@alicelong3613]

Did you do any research before moving to NYC!? 😅 it’s a dump

[@vulkandrache1928]

They dont just look 50 years old. The infrastructure in many large western cities was build decades ago for like half the people currently using it.

[@thyslop1737]

B/Q train rode it a bazillion times. Welcome to the third world sh#thole. Subway system is a joke, unless, of course, you are a fan of rats.

[@SwiftySanders]

Go to Propel in Brooklyn and get a good e-bike (Tern, Gazelle, Reese & Mueller). Dont get a crappy pos bike with cheap parts thats gonna blow up your NYC apt the moment you try to charge it.

[@maldo72]

Bus drivers are told directly from management that fare box is not yours and you are not to enforce the fare on city buses nor ask for the fare to be paid ... this comes directly from the top ..

[@robster7787]

Conspiracy theory: Sounds like an amazing way for an entity to secretly pocket millions and claim it’s fare evasion of the 400,000.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

the MTA pocketing money?!?!?! No sir this is impossible

[@ericlotze7724]

Yeah, I’d be interested in doing some muckraking into the accuracy of those numbers, who wrote the article etc. It may just be me being paranoid, and the numbers are correct and were done by some responsible 3rd party, but I’m getting some serious warning signals lol.

[@NerfMaster000]

It’s not that far fetched, just search on KZbin and you’ll find multiple videos of people jumping turnstiles in NYC

[@QueenAleenaFan]

A system with no legitimate competition or non-government appointed oversight has corruption? Say it is not so!

[@Thee-AmateurAn94]

Yup

[@kitfo18]

As someone that has to go to NYC for work at least once a week, why would I want to pay for a place where I am beyond not safe and the act of defending myseld something that has been seen more and more will get you put in jail? I just avoid the subway more now then I ever did.

[@Eliburgo]

Yes because choking homeless mentally ill people to death is defending yourself😂 no ones stopping you or punishing you for defending yourself stop it

[@belhariry]

Are you planning on choking out people till they die? I think you'll be good otherwise.

[@TROBassGuitar]

Oh stfu, going up behind someone who hasn't done anything violent isn't defending yourself moron

[@billwilson3665]

City life now sucks.

[@muscleman125]

@@billwilson3665 I still think NYC in particular has retained it's culture and energy very well, but yeah it is becoming a worse and worse place to live even in Manhattan. Too expensive for far too little, rising mental illness rates, rising crime rates, rising poverty. But it's still the same old NYC with the same charm. For what it's worth, crime rates are still nowhere near the peak of the 80's.

[@Ron_Delle]

I have to say as a Train Operator myself that you need to add another view of the "Beast", and that's from the inside out. They are so many factors as to why the train is soo packed or late, people get sick, ride on top of or in the back of the train, altercations between passengers, kids activating the emergency brakes, and my personal favorite the guy who I just seen hop the turnstile hold the doors for his friends who also hopped the turnstile. That's just to name a few. I just don't agree on hopping turnstile no matter what.

[@captainkeyboard1007]

What else is new!😀

[@paulyricca3881]

🚬👱🏻‍♂️🥃I AM OF THE NEW YORK CITY ELITE AND I SAY HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 🚬👱🏻‍♂️🥃GOOD FOR U SUFFER HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH

[@paulyricca3881]

@@captainkeyboard1007 👳🏻‍♂️YOUR MOTHERS ASS DATS WATT

[@nero0168]

L

[@derflimflam]

And all the fare evasion is still a drop in the bucket to all the police OT required to address fare evasion. it would literally be cheaper to make transit free.

[@deltastripes]

Exactly

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Public transportation should be free.

[@Last_Resort991]

Impossible in the USA, that's cOMuNisM

[@SkepticalMantisCHANNEL10]

Exactly!

[@eddyborges2075]

Nothing is free, somewhere someone is paying for that free ride.

[@sandrajaramillo3523]

Hi Louis, I currently live in Queens and travel to the Bronx for work. Many fare dodgers will just board the bus and keep going. If the bus driver stopped everyone doing this, he would be fighting with bus riders all day. Plus a lot of fare dodgers are scary looking. It's not worth it for the bus driver to put his life at risk trying to stop these people. Also, in the Bronx a lot of people sneak in through the back door, therefore not paying the fare. I have not seen this in Queens. But in the Bronx, I see men sticking their hands in through the closed back door crack while others are boarding in the front and opening the back door. Then the rest of people on the line to get on the bus start to enter through the back door now that it is open.

[@subaruamazon]

ha ha welcome to nyc. the cesspool getting worse.

[@leotimtom6637]

What race were predominantly those people?

[@SeattlePioneer]

> Here in Seattle, there are a few stops where this is common. If I happen to be getting off at such a stop, I make a point of being the last person getting off and just stand in front of the door after getti ng off. That annoys the fare evaders, but they don't seem to want o physically hassle a 6'2" man. I suppose they just go to the front door and evade the fare there, anyway.

[@goodbro7846]

What your seeing is the end of western culture civility. The barbarians.just use thier size and force to take what they want. Just cut in line at the bank. Just jump the toll gate etc... It's a different culture then the one who developed this country. It's non European American. That's for sure.

[@Eatm3]

@@leotimtom6637 rent free in your head smh find a hobby l0ser

[@miff227]

You can't count the loss of fares as loss of revenue, just like you can't count an illegal download of a song as the loss of the full price of a CD in the 2000's. You'd first have to prove that the 400,000 fare evaders would have had no choice but to pay the fare if evading wasn't on the cards.

[@colinlpeace]

I work for city transit in a city in Canada and it’s exactly the same situation. People don’t pay, half our vehicles have something busted in them and management are a bunch of irresponsible people who can’t manage day to day operations but have all these pie in the sky plans to “improve” transit. 💀

[@LN997-i8x]

Fellow Canadian here; in my small city, public transit is entirely non-viable. I tried to use it for a while, and ended up spending 12-20 hours _per week_ just getting to work, versus 3-5 hours by car.

[@myleshagar9722]

Public transit in Canada? Where?

[@dariusanderton3760]

@@myleshagar9722 quit being silly

[@daxmojones9025]

400,000 people that I would imagine aren't the best folks to be sitting on a subway with.

[@amicaaranearum]

No kidding. He complained about having to deal with the crazy people on the trains, but I would bet that a disproportionate percentage of said crazy people are not paying.

[@druec2863]

I'm so glad that I relate to educated and real people like you. I don't understand how anyone can view NYC in a fantasy mindset when the conditions are absolute crap. I grew up going to NYC a lot and the conditions have only gotten worse. In my opinion, if you don't have to be there, you shouldn't live there. The corruption and lack of quality of life is terrible

[@Levine93]

I’m from the UK and the first time I went to the New York City was for a primary school friend’s wedding in 2019 who was living out there at the time. Subways were some of the worst we had ever used and even trying to walk about between locations was incredibly uncomfortable as every street and corner was ridiculed by very aggressive scammers! Even went out one time for a walk by myself and headphones on as to not to be disturbed but was approached and actively tried to be stopped numerous times, particularly bad around Times Square! Safest we ever felt was when we ordered Uber taxi’s as a group! Definitely won’t be going to back New York City and not recommending to any friends they travel there on a city break holiday (much more spectacular and cultural placed you can spend your life visiting!) My friend and his partner have since relocated to San Francisco…

[@chaos.corner]

Frying pan -> fire.

[@carverjohnson2941]

San Francisco? If anything it’s worse than NYC. San Francisco is a massive toilet, literally, and the government there is somehow… somehow more incompetent than NYC.

[@stephenwabaxter]

New York subway was a dangerous place by in the 1980's. Cop in every carriage with a loaded firearm. All that being said I do love the US in general and all Americans and never felt that unsafe.

[@akaroth7542]

Oof, San Francisco wasn't an upgrade

[@mrsleep0000]

If you ever come back, visit the national parks and stay out of the democrat run cities.

[@SpaceTheAge]

Public transpotation should not be designed to make a profit. It is designed to allow people to commute effciently allowing more people to live in the city, increasing tax revenue.

[@Sonicfan1661]

But this is America, everything must be profit driven! Or else it's communism or something, whatever the hell they spout on the news.

[@jonathanng2390]

It’s not. Just the opposite. NY MTA never made money. As a result, subsidies are required to keep it afloat. People who never took PT in NY are paying taxes to the MTA

[@smartyyoung7319]

It would be the case if no private business is involved. For those private-public cooperations, private investors do need a good return to justify the investment.

[@DovidM]

By the same token, food, drugs and rent should be free to make life in NYC more affordable.

[@vocassen]

@@jonathanng2390 And that's just fine, because that would allow the city to NOT expand the road infrastructure, which per person costs a LOT more to develop and maintain for them to move around in the city. Ideally the PT is managed better to make it a pleasant option even IF you have a car to get around, because more people voluntarily using PT over cars, the better for a city (less cost, less space wasted that could be used for something productive, etc.). I'm not saying you should stop using the car and use PT just because it's somehow "better", I want PT to become better until you voluntarily make the switch. Works in many cities in asia, some in europe, though reliability is the main factor that makes people still prefer cars, and that's a systematic issue that comes with privatisation of transit. But either way, it is fine if they are subsidised, because roads are too, after all.

[@joedt1214]

The MTA is ABSOLUTELY DELUSIONAL!! The Buses and Subway are Absolutely Disgusting!! Riding the Subway is Like An Episode of a Post Apocalyptic Movie or Show. You Risk Your Life and have to pay for it. While criminals don't pay and run both the platforms and the trains. Then they have the gall to say that they plan a fare hike.

[@warrenlanham9088]

Well if a person has to constantly worry about being brutally murdered, harassed by the mentally insane, propositioned for sex and drugs, etc maybe they should be given a discounted rate for public transportation.

[@Thiccolo]

MTA is pretty cheap all things considered. $2.75 to get anywhere you want in the city is great

[@sephondranzer]

Well… have you tried having sex when propositioned? Maybe you wouldn’t have it happen so often… Yes, I’m for sure going to hell for that joke if it exists in anyway. Worth it ✌🏼

[@Winterascent]

I am shocked anyone rides the subway in NYC, but I guess if you are dumb enough to live there you deserve what you get.

[@warrenlanham9088]

@@Thiccolo at face value...i agree. However, when you include "NY public transportation" into the Statement....i disagree. Them again my life is worth too much for me to risk it even if it was free. In addition, the fact that apparently I'd also have to worry about being criminally charged and/or died in a civil suit for defending myself (because NY has lost its mind).... yeah... definitely not worth it for me. But considering there are large quantities of illegal immigrants getting the opportunity to get free extended hotel stays i guess it all kinda balances out in a weird way.

[@capt.blackcheesemo3111]

What happened on the F train, has made me realize more now that if I don't do something to avoid that kind of dangerous situation, it will happen to me eventually.

[@Nikitan275]

As a former NYC resident, I used to ride a bicycle every day from Bensonhurst to KBCC. I really hated public transit, and because of that, I didn't want to depend on it. A 30-40 minute bike ride is really good exercise too. Hell, I'd do it in any weather, any season. I'd be riding in the rain with an umbrella and it was definitely better than public transit. After college, I would then go to Borough Park to go work in a car service. Bicycles are truly the best transport in NYC. I then switched over to motorcycles when I moved to Staten Island because the insurance is cheap. I paid $210 for liability for a whole year for my first motorcycle. My first car was like $100 a month for insurance. As for my bicycle, I never bought one. I simply found one in the garbage and then fix it up. I would often go to Roy's Bike store and try to find some parts they'd thrown away. And believe me, they throw out some really nice parts that are still salvageable. And because my bikes would normally look like they have been heavily used and have a heavy-duty chain on it, nobody would go try to steal it. Although, I serviced my bicycles meticulously.

[@ApexGale]

Bicycles are the best transport in NYC if you're comfortable riding in enclosed spaces with pretty garbage drivers. I remember I tried biking in the city and I felt like I was at a risk of getting hit at any given point or otherwise struggling to navigate through the tight spaces.

[@Nikitan275]

@@ApexGale yes, it is pretty risky to ride there, but you get used to it. Improving awareness of your surroundings is a must for your own safety.

[@el_puma_real]

I feel you on that. I don’t live in NYC, I’m out west in San Francisco and the transit here although a lot smaller sucks just as hard and I myself don’t pay to get on because the buses and trains are filthy. These transit agencies need to wake up.

[@isaiahyoung5377]

Louis, I'm a middle class working class guy from the originally bad/gentrified part of Harlem where there's lots of dealers and users that CONSTANTLY evade fares when riding the subway. I used to think that taking the moral high ground and being actually able to afford should be enough to gatekeep those who can't use the service is good, until the constant influx of mentally disturbed homeless and drug users who do it on the regular get away with it. And why should i finance a system that rewards this behavior knowing that I as someone who can actually pay will be punished for fare evasion and they won't be? So I only pay when there's no immediate opportunity to "hop", or where there's selective enforcement, like in Times Square.

[@larrybills5840]

If you’re middle class why on earth are you still living in NYC 😂

[@tristan7216]

Careful with that. Middle class ppl with jobs don't need to rack up a criminal record. You have something to lose, the hopping kids don't. The cops and prosecutors may act accordingly just for spite, or to force at least some ppl to pay.

[@ryanignites5923]

The hardest thing to accept is that due to these losses, they raise toll prices, effectively punishing the honest citizen while doing little to nothing to fix the problem where it stems.

[@Furzkampfbomber]

That is generally the problem with a socialist mindset.

[@Frenchdefense9404]

​@@Furzkampfbomberthis ain't socialism tho

[@Thee-AmateurAn94]

They didn’t lose that much in “fare evasion” they pocketed that money and want you to give them more.

[@amharbinger]

I lived in NYC my entire life, the NYPD does more to protect their stupid fare dodging than the actual citizens who pay their salaries. Every turnstile I see 2-5 NYPD officers standing near them on their phones waiting for someone to fare dodge. I'm glad they're losing money. The amount of BS I've dealt with ranging from delays, trains shutting down, actually threatening people on the trains and buses and no cops strangely around. I've gotten several tickets because the stupid thing didn't register my card or Metrocard and decided to just jump the thing with one cop telling me "well, you should've paid twice then".

[@oM477o]

I've caught metro trains in many different parts of the world including Australia, Singapore, Germany, Poland, and New York. Now I havn't been to NY in over a decade but one thing I remember from my last trip was how unbelievably shitty the metro was. It felt more like a sewer with trains than an actual modern underground train system.

[@subaruamazon]

m4 it is. what are some of the positive metros of the world?

[@azhariarif]

@@subaruamazonIn Malaysia, they're on time, clean, the passengers most are reserved and quiet, and it's convenient to use. Check out the Malaysian LRT, and MRT.

[@prentfaiyaz]

​@@subaruamazon Japan. Omg so oooo amazing.

[@Furzkampfbomber]

German here. If you want to use the metro or the city train in Berlin nowadays, prepare for a literal sh*t show. The stench alone is quite something, it is hard to not get harassed by drug dealers, junkies or beggars, to not step into human feces or to stumble over garbage. And that's just talking about the stations, the trains often are in even worse condition. Last time I was in Berlin, some bum was litterally pissing on the seats and even before he did that, the smell of ammonia in that car was almost unbearable. And don't get me started about the state the german railway is in. It was a state-owned mess for decades already, but since the green/leftist government had the grandiose idea to introduce a '49 Euro ticket', which allows to use _all_ local and countrywide means of public (non-private) transportation for the price of just 49 Euro per month. This is part of the agenda of the green party to more or less eliminate individual transport. The fun thing is - I _still_ can't get to work with public transport, because when I have to leave the house half past five in the morning to get to my job, there is simply no bus available that would bring me to one of the biggest hospitals in the federal state. The busses start to drive when all the freeloaders, migrants, professional wellfare recipients are finally awake and decide to make a nice trip to the swimming bath. _I_ as a working person are not meant to use this system, I am just meant to pay for it with my taxes and fees. And when talking about the german railway system, well, it was already overburdened years ago, because politicians, with leftist and green politicians leading the way, could not be bothered - with the 49 € ticket and lots of people without work happily using it to make nice trips all over the country, it is now on the brink of collapse. Antifants for instance _love_ this ticket, because it makes it _so_ much easier for them to get to places to vandalize all over the country. And when you spend quite some money for a seat reservation, you will find you seat most likely already occupied by some a*hole who will not even think about getting up, while the train personal will tell you, well, though luck.

[@MizTheDonGargon]

I'm one of those people who refuse to pay. I used to be one of the suckers who ALWAYS paid.... until I just got sick and tired of years and years of riding on trains that are constantly on changed schedules due to never ending track work because they refuse to actually replace shit and instead just patch things up as needed. The delays are ENDLESS! At least for me, 1 out of every 3 rides on the subway is a terrible experience where the train either a) stops in the middle of the track (keeping you trapped which sucks if you're already running late) often with no explanation whatsoever, and for up to 15 minutes at a time! When this happens at a station, sometimes they'll even keep the doors closed so you can't leave during the wait! b) as mentioned before, stopping every couple minutes for up to 15 min at a time... WHILE ONLY GOING 2MPH!!! Imagine a trip that should only take 15 min max taking 40 min about 1 out of every 3 times you make that trip. b) dealing with crazy people due to refusal to consistently stock trains and stations with police to keep us safe. c) seats are absoluetly filfthy due to refusal to keep anything clean. i mean they literally allow bums to jerk off and take dumps on the platform! d) dealing with annoying and often aggressive panhandling on the train when it is supposedly illegal but is never enforced e) skips you're stop but the loudspeaker is so broken that you were not aware, forcing you to now have to either get off and jump back on across the track, get off and find another route, or get off and take a long ass walk Then top that off with consistently raising fares despite never raising quality of service, and a complete lack or coverage in a vast portion of Eastern Queens and areas of South Brooklyn, and you have an agency which wants to keep charging us more and more money without ever updating the coverage map until only recently and only in manhattan... the place that needed a new line the least!!! FUCK THAT! When i was dirt poor and living in public housing, I paid EVERY TIME. Now that I make good money, I REFUSE 😂

[@larrybills5840]

Don’t get caught with a fine 😅

[@rhuttrho88]

😅😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂👍🏿🫨👋🏿

[@MizTheDonGargon]

@@larrybills5840 it's impossible to get caught unless you're so high on drugs that you don't notice cops there

[@gillz107]

So I assume you use a bike to get around now? Uber/Lyft? Walk?! I'll admit too that MTA setvice is a complete $#@!-show, but its still cheaper than the alternatives, other than walking Edit: and to the people that fare evade just because they don't like the service; IMO, you're just as much of a scumbag as the MTA officials are. You don't like the service, so you just STEAL the service instead. Brilliant logic. If you hate the MTA service so much, then don't use it. There are always alternative means of transport, instead of becoming a petty criminal and fare evade Edit #2: I just saw the follow-up to this video. But I'm gonna keep the 1st edit up, just to remind myself how naive I am, in believing that being an honest citizen in this city is even possible at this time. You try to do the right things, but then the city and the MTA say "hold my beer!". The pinned comment in the other video says it all for me.

[@tarikviaer-mcclymont5762]

I hope you stub your toe in the middle of the night

[@norwegianblue2017]

It's almost like abandoning enforcement of laws for some crimes has had a trickle effect on respect for the law overall. Who could have foreseen this?

[@atmas1337]

NYC commuters are even more honest than their politicians, incredible!

[@magnanimus9692]

That's... not a high bar to clear.

[@Notme-tq4xs]

@@magnanimus9692 all democrats

[@cmdrfunk]

The people get the politicians they deserve

[@Rathial]

I remember watching a news story about people skipping the tolls and literally like half of the people in the background were just hopping over the turnstile 😂

[@hyliansaviour9420]

Having moved from to Bushwick from East Flatbush, i definitely feel what you're saying about the L. Cool thing is people have been helping others get through the emergency gate.

[@TheRm65]

You're absolutely right. NYC transit system sucks big time. Unfortunately, the court system (that I have to deal with daily) also sucks, from the judges themselves to court admin to the nasty, clueless clerks. This is not a Republican/Democrat thing, it's bureaucratic incompetence that is not penalized.

[@buddykerr1]

This is the "broken window" theory in action. When lawlessness is repeatedly ignored, eventually even normally law abiding people will jump in and add to the chaos.

[@thecandyman9308]

But but but broken window theory is "systemic racism", remember?

[@myoldvhstapes]

That's how life is here in L.A.

[@bloodyidit4506]

It used to be back in the day you could rough someone up for not paying. That shit was your bread and butter. That made a lot of people pay. They'll say it was never legal, but it basically was and it was passed over.

[@justSTUMBLEDupon]

Many of the people jumping wearing suits.

[@bloodyidit4506]

@@justSTUMBLEDupon A lot of the new suits are getting paid a lot less then usual too.

[@justsoicanfingcomment5814]

This could be so easily solved by putting in one way. Revolving doors that will not let you through until you pay.🤨

[@chazzlidell1492]

Fyi, NYC transit bus operators are instructed to not engage in confrontation with fare evaders. I'm 52 years old and I remember when I was in eighth grade and watching the bus opetater physically throw a kid off the bus for mom payment. Nowadays fare evasion run a muck. I even saw an ederly woman jump the turn style. This all started at the beginning of the pandemic. The point is you give someone an inch they want the whole enchilada

[@masskiller9206]

man thats pretty messed up they threw that kid off the bus just because his mom paid for him to ride it

[@lgude]

My dad grew up in NYC when the fare was 5 cents. He used the saying "Keep your Nickel" meaning do what you want but a keep your fare home. I now live in Perth Western Australia where the train system is card based with different fares for different categories of passenger - school kids, pensioners, regular riders etc. What strikes me is the way US cities just are unable to manage themselves.

[@Mel-8206]

i remember in the 90s was a 1.00 to 1.25 miss those cheap days

[@danielmaster8776]

We have a corrupt government. They don't care about infrastructure, because they fly and yacht everywhere.

[@geovane19]

Yet the NY population will keep voting for the same people.

[@ericwadebrown]

We have the exact same situation in SF bay area. BART is dying due to lack of ridership and gate jumpers. I think it's actually worse here than NYC.

[@naughtiusmaximus1811]

It's bad. The hired an internal auditor who quit after only a couple of years because she kept getting stonewalled. One thing management AND union can agree on is to keep the graft going.

[@jaym5938]

Riding Metro (in LA) is like living a scene in The Walking Dead. Louis finally said it: "The people that run this city need to be run out of their positions!" < exactly!

[@Notme-tq4xs]

won't happen. All you guys vote democrat. every time.

[@naruto27x]

@@Notme-tq4xs Point me to a republican with solid transit plans and I'll vote away, maybe

[@christiane5984]

@@Notme-tq4xs Republicans present even more pathetic, out of touch candidates than Democrats in LA

[@christiane5984]

@Phillip Banes You genuinely don't even know what socialism is. Go read a book, you clown.

[@maggie937]

For some reason I thought taxes paid for the subway. I didn’t realize it was owned by a private company and operate off of revenue from turnstiles

[@Jimmy_none]

Yup. Even some New Yorkers have no idea that’s privately owned.

[@fattestroyal198]

Its a sign of collapsing support. From those meant to allocate resources to those projects. I visited NYC once and hated it for a couple days I was there. Its in need of updates. Even Jacksonville FL has better transit for a smaller city compared to them... Its confusing. I gladly paid for the JTA before I boarded anything in NYC

[@kanrakucheese]

And Jacksonville is only "smaller" by comparison to NY (the world's 11th largest city), being the 11th largest city in the US in population.

[@fattestroyal198]

@@phillipbanes5484 Wow, go anywhere outside of it and it'll prove my point you oblivious nitwit

[@susanfender307]

Jacksonville's mass transit is ineffective and poor- If they had a 3 hub system (Northside, Westside, Southside) with shuttles between, the traffic in Jacksonville could be massively reduced. Instead the routes start on the Westside, go to the North main hub, then go to the Southside- meaning people going from the Westside (Argyle, Orange Park, etc) would spend an additional hour or more to get across to the Southside (Mandarin, Baymeadows, San Jose, etc). This basically forces more traffic on the roads, and the Buckman. If I had a choice of spending 45-hr in a car to get to the Southside dealing with the maniacs on 295, Blanding, San Jose, Baymeadows, etc- and riding a bus for the same amount of time- I would choose the bus. I will rag on Gainesville's stupidity in traffic design, but RTS is usually on time (Roughly 85%) and has clean, well-maintained buses.

[@Ziegfried82]

@@susanfender307 yeah bragging about FL's transit is hilarious to me.

[@apunkman]

As a tourist in 2012, the staff on the NYC subway robbed me. I asked to purchase a 2 x 1 weekly pass to start the following day (cash only booth in a subway ) the really nice African American woman also gave a free ticket for that day. It was only two days later we realised that she sold me a ‘two one day pass cards’ and kept the money we paid for the week. The subway staff didn’t want to know when I complained. Not surprised to hear the subway is a joke and a shambles. Its being screwed from both directions! The management must know what’s going on and are probably in on the scam.

[@primusdragon]

Yeah really nice new yorker, that's not something you meet in real life

[@Strideo1]

​@@primusdragon You absolutely meet really nice New Yorkers. Most of the people I talked to in New York were quite nice despite the stereotypes.

[@m1k238]

One day cards has been in existence for quite some time. You probably got scammed

[@meatmoneymilkmonogamyequal5583]

Public transit should NOW be FREE in the 21st century. All metro, trains, buses, bikes, scooters, in all cities. If we spend 5 to 6 trillion on fossil fuel subsides then there is enough to cover free transport. Not even to mention the US military budget.

[@ChrisSchaffer]

I had an identical experience 15 years ago with the Boston system, so, not covid related - for the line I was on I was paying $160 a month for a line that had a 30% on time rate.... and they achieved that 30% on time rate after they decided "ehhhhhh a train isn't really late if it's there within 15-20 minutes of an expected time, it's not really late till it's 30 minutes late" and with that abysmal threshold they managed to be on time for 1/3 of trains.... The Portland OR system (light rail) has it's problems but it's much much better at being on schedule than the MTA - still frequent need to deal with shuttle busses because of heat... flooding... idiots turn directly in front of trains... but it was a low enough cost that I didn't feel like I was getting gouged. I also rode the subway daily in Nagoya Japan for a year, I was packed in like a sardine during the peak rush hours... but every single train was on time, I never got screamed at by anyone, no one ever beat their wife on the subway as I've seen in both Boston and Portland. Peak times sucked for comfort, but what a phenomenally better run system that earned the fares it collected (I'm sure actual residents of Japan who have wider/longer experiences of ridership could quote me a book of problems that do exist, but I loved it)

[@RasheedahNizam]

Right now I live in a little town called Port St Lucie in Florida. We are way too tiny to have a trains and Subways and things like that but we do have a comprehensive bus system. The system is mostly funded with a half-cent sales tax and there is no charge when you get on to ride. Although I do enjoy how every Depot that is the start or end point for 4 or more lines has has a Breezeway with a roof, comfortable seating and local artwork, the things that we residents really appreciate most is that the bus arrives on time. When I tell you that it arrives on time I mean that 95% of the time it is there at the precise minute the timetable says it will be there. As a result, a suburban area which normally require everyone to have a car is now quite manageable for those of us don't like driving, who can't drive, or who can't afford a car. I know without a shadow of a doubt that if the bust should break down a replacement bus will be there within about seven minutes to pick us up. There's no chance for me to be late to work accepted to my own lack of preparedness. We cannot blame the local Transit System when we come to work late. A lot of elderly people who are no longer fit to drive feel confident to hand the Keys over to their grandchildren here because they know it doesn't mean a loss of freedom. When I stand at my kitchen window washing dishes I see old people always standing at the bus halt right outside my door. I have some plumeria and dombeya tree next to that halt which are not yet mature enough to provide shade to anyone. But hopefully within the next two to three years that spot will be a more pleasant place for the old folks to wait on the bus. I understand that we're talking about a completely different scale here. But I do think that public transit has the possibility to be a pleasure no matter how large the system. The last time I had possession of a car was when I rented one for my time in Manhattan. There was no way I was dealing with that system because I know it too well

[@scythermantis]

Yeah I agree I think maybe it should be free overall

[@alexinness]

your very good at pointing out problems, where are your solutions?

[@avlisk]

I used to commute to work from Englewood, NJ to midtown. The trip was about 30 minutes, (and less if I drove, but then, there was the parking problem). But, I would have to allow 90 minutes each day because the trains and busses weren't reliable. I got out of there many years ago. It hasn't gotten better.

[@Notme-tq4xs]

why would you stay ?

[@ak5659]

Pre-Covid I lived I Ft. Lee, almost on the bridge. I had to allow 90 minutes to get to most place the city on tme. I used to take yoga classes, go to drawing workshops, etc. which were on the way heading home. Now? I'm in Englewood where I work from home and those after work activities are now OVER 90 minutes each way. That's just too long for me to do on a regular basis.

[@wanderinguser7665]

There is no authority, there is only you. Choose wisely.

[@PoopaChallupa]

I wouldn't pay for NY subway either. You either get push onto the tracks, assaulted by mentally ill people, and arrested for protecting yourself.

[@Vaelosh466]

When I lived in NY over a decade ago I rode the line that goes through Penn Station and Times Square all the time and didn't have much trouble with it. Then I lived in Washington, DC for awhile and the trains there are awful, on top of there being constant rail fires that cause delays you're hoping there isn't some homeless guy pissing in the corner on your car. I was very happy to move to the suburbs and buy a car.

[@captainkeyboard1007]

Lucky are you!

[@prentfaiyaz]

When was this. I loved the DC metro.

[@junothescarecrow]

I can't believe you are almost to 2 million subs. Thank you for the apple knowledge, estate knowledge, and politic knowledge. And as always, I know I learned something!

[@Fanta....]

wow, feels like not long ago he celebrated 1 million subs.

[@smacwhinnie]

Fare should be zero. As the NYT exposed 30+ years ago, the trains and busses run on state and city tax dollars. At the time, the price of the token paid for the cost of minting and distributing tokens and the associated booths and staff. A jobs program. Most of the booths and clerks are gone and MetroCard are dispensed by machines. That has overhead, but still more slush fund money not needed to operate/maintain, but to be wasted. Onerous labor contracts, liability, undeserved management bonuses. Every few years there might be a decent capital project. Getting around Manhattan is usually fine, if something breaks, alternatives are easy to access. In the outer boros people are generally screwed if something fails. I witness a lot of fairbeating i never saw before the coof, and not just poor people or the usual suspects. Whether its overstated for effect or understated to make their reduction targets achievable, who knows. They’ll just make up the numbers ultimately. Like public housing they need to privatize the management, if not ownership, and law enforcement needs to be omnipresent, and promptly haul away crazies, nuisances, crazies, and get them the services they need before another citizen has to take matters into his own hands.

[@disenfranchisedrealist4433]

NY could try to do what they attempted to do here in my state a while ago. They came up with this brilliant idea to make almost all the highways in the state toll roads and then filter off all the funds to subsidize the public transit in a couple major cities in the state. When the idea got out it didn't go over very well. It's not like there are very many companies/organizations that spend much on maintenance and upkeep. That's why we have so much failing infrastructure. The attitude seems to be the you build something and then it lasts forever with a minimum of attention. The facility I worked at was probably worth $250 million in property and buildings and they were lucky to budget even $100K a year out of their 8 figure budget for maintenance.

[@KTSpeedruns]

What Gabe Newell says about piracy 100% applies here. The theft is not about the price. It has everything to do with convenience. I know people who used to take public transit. They lost faith in public transit because the bus schedule would change along with several bus routes. It became so inconvenient to try to keep track of it all and so inconvenient to get to where you're going that they broke down, bought a car, oftentimes going into massive debt to do so, just to have convenient travel back in their lives.

[@dindog22]

where I live (Cleveland Ohio) the bus routes are so convoluted and crazy. also they stop running at night. it's hard to figure out how to get around town

[@sephondranzer]

This makes me so sad for the poor city of New York. Can’t you see my real unfettered sadness? Let me play NYC a note on the world’s smallest violin…

[@aveysov]

Louis, you totally need to come to Moscow! Our metro runs like clockwork, new trains are spacious and nice, with USB chargers and proper handle bars (finally!), with luggage space, all train cars connected with passages to give extra space. Also they started upgrading suburban and radial trains to a higher metro-like style of service and new locally produced cars. Also also we have now 3 radial lines - the small one, the large one, and one based on heavy trains. All of this connects to suburban trains, buses and trams. I literally can commute to other cities with my bike (!) without leaving the public transport system. This is just amazing. Surprisingly, this all started to happen after the former head of Moscow was fired for stealing money ... and new major was invited from Siberia.

[@SmexyAsianGirls]

You can’t even get to Moscow because of the war.

[@alexandrzatonsky]

@@SmexyAsianGirls Actually anyone can. There is no direct flights but you can flight via Turkey or Georgia for example.

[@josephcolon6308]

thank you

[@moodiblues2]

I visited NYC once at 16 and hated it. Mainly because I felt dwarfed by the huge towering buildings and freezing cold. But it was more than that. I was turned off by the people I came into contact with. Of course now I realize a smaller city suburb youth was bound to feel overwhelmed by such a different experience. Now I know lots of fine New Yorkers refugees living now in my home of Palm Beach County, Florida.

[@ogarcia515]

I live in NYC and the emergency exits are the biggest sieve. Every day I see dozens of people getting in for free at the emergency exits. The wait till a train arrives and as people exit using the emergency exits, the freeloaders come in. No need to be an athlete to jump the turnstiles, just walk in at the exits. Meanwhile, I watch having paid full fare.

[@ruppelspoopels]

Why pay?

[@captainkeyboard1007]

When I ride the local bus, I feed the "kitty" with my MetroCard. I see people, young and old, walking through the front doors, past the bus operator, and march down the aisle for seats of which they never paid for. On top of that thing, they would not offer their seats to the revenue passengers. Fare evasion has not gone out of style. It is simply stealing a ride.

[@HarryZikosNY]

Born and raised New Yorker here. I haven’t taken subways since 2019. Never been happier.

[@aeaeaeaeoaeaeaeaeae]

The public transit system in chicago is actually quite nice, not super badly crowded and really fair prices

[@paulyricca3881]

👱🏻‍♂️🥃ITS QUITE NICE BECAUSE U ONE TRAIN WIT THREE TRAIN STOPS LIKE BOB NEWHART

[@jpguthrie6669]

In Japan the trains are privately owned, and run for profit, and they are profitable. For decades, they were government-owned. While they were government owned, they lost billions, the trains and stations were poorly maintained, and the trains were seldom on time. The people had enough, the government sold the railway to private companies (usually retail conglomerates), the railway systems were turned around, trains and stations became spotless, and Japan's trains became the most punctual in the world. Yesterday I rode a bullet train from Kyoto Tokyo, a distance of 270 miles, which took only 2 hours and a few minutes. What is wonderful about these trains is that instead of being black holes absorbing countless millions in taxpayer losses, they earn a taxable profit. As for fare evasion, train and subway turnstiles have officers nearby, and there are more on the platform. If you don't want to pay your fare, and try to jump through, you face 4 or more weeks in jail. But fares are cheap enough that even homeless people can find the change to buy a ticket. What is crazy is that Japan, a small country with few resources, can build a dozen bullet train lines with hundreds of trains, and America, which once sent people to the moon, cannot build even one such line.

[@thecandyman9308]

African-Americans are killing people and not even getting 4 weeks in jail.

[@jpguthrie6669]

@memgen-憂鬱頭 Local trains are inexpensive, it would cost me 120 yen to take the train or subway for a local trip, and perhaps 1100 yen to go to Chiba or Kanagawa. Employers subsidize public transportation, both train fair and time spent, the amount depends on long is your commute.

[@chinookh4713]

It’s kinda complex here but yea NYC is democrat run, they want socialist policies and would never allow a private company take over the subways. Additionally not many people want to be cops often times they are shamed for arresting people even if it’s the right thing it crazy

[@KingCrimson02]

People shit in their pants when you want to privatize something lmfao

[@jannuarytrash]

I mean, Tokyo Metro is jointly owned by the national and municipal govt and Toei subway is owned wholly by the metropolitan govt, not to mention basically all public transit in Western Europe is publicly owned, while on the other hand, there's Amtrak which operates as a for-profit company and sucks super bad and privately run route taxis in every post-soviet city which can only be described as a type of cruel and unusual punishment It's easy to say "privatization = good", but when it comes to passenger rail and public transit, it very seldom actually works well

[@AmazingChinaToday]

A "Sanctuary City" bleeding billions from criminal activity. Manhattan is toast, sane people are leaving.

[@maweitao]

NYC's subway system is downright embarrassing. It's a stark contrast to Taipei's metro which I rode daily for several years. That system is great both because of competent management and thanks to the riders themselves. Vandalism and litter are not a problem. There's no tolerance for troublemakers and the authorities are quick to respond to trouble. Taipei also don't have homeless wandering the subway system. Not because they have better mental health services, but because the cops will find the next of kin and force them to deal with the individual. Personal responsibility is a huge cultural driver and it's one that helps ensure the government is also accountable. It ensures that despite the subways being absolutely packed during rush hour they're still punctual, reliable and smooth. I don't want to oversell the system, but compared to NYC, it's a utopia.

[@JohnADoe-pg1qk]

Perhaps my information is wrong from my brief search, but the Taipei Metro system appears to have started in the 1980's (at least in its current form). Wait another 50...60 years, then it won't be as good anymore. Also, such late-starting systems have the benefit of having learned a lot from the experience of the early Metro systems, which tends to make them the better systems, along with advances in technology.

[@Demopans5990]

And yet, compared to most US cities, NYC's is still somewhere up there by virtue of the public transit system existing and barely functional. And it still doesn't really compare to London's or Paris's.

[@keenlight1]

You need to look at one of the oldest stations in the world. The Moscow stations are amazing.

[@maweitao]

@@JohnADoe-pg1qk I regularly take the 7 line extension into Hudson Yards which is only 7 years old. Train cars still bash their way through those tunnels like every other line in NYC. The last stop was built a lot more recently than most of Taipei's network but it already looks tired. Don't get me wrong, it's great compared to most other stations in New York but compared to any in Taipei the difference is big.

[@dirankomorov]

Man, that part about the police making the next of kin take care of homeless sounds like a great idea. Sadly I don't think it'd work out in the US because a lot of people have the "muh personal freedoms" attitude and a lot of families live across the country from each other.

[@Planeta1951]

I have a bad feeling that when the beast gets starved, people responsible for this mess will just give up and blame it on others to fix it, while using all the corrupt money they got on some luxury lifestyle somewhere else... bottom line would be that starving will not really solve this.

[@icecreaman2010]

They can easily fix that. Extend an area wall where they can't get over. That's how it should always have been.

[@barbarajsalant]

As someone who grew up in The Bronx Road the trains the time I was a young girl tomorrow early 20s it was the most horrific abusive experience even witnessed two murders aside for myself being frightened and abused and I can’t imagine it getting better these days. I took a studio apartment in the suburbs and made my career there and I say the fare on the trains and the buses in New York City should be free. End of subject. Stopping and squandering the taxpayers money give us all a break already.

[@rumporridge1]

So you want to ride a train from the Bronx to Coney Island for free. You buggin.

[@Furzkampfbomber]

Here in Germany, the green/leftist government introduced a '49 Euro ticket', which allows you for the price of, well, 49 Euros/month to use _all_ local and countrywide systems of public transportation. Which is not close from being free. You know what happened? Using public means of transportation instantly became even more unpleasant, stressful or downright dangerous, because they became even more of a home for the especially unpleasant and often aggressive kind of freeloader.

[@coweatsman]

Some German cities have made public transport free. The philosophy is that buses and trains in cities is like elevators in buildings. Just a way of getting around. Every extra passenger is one less parking space needed. The German cities found they saved money not having to have turnstiles and inspectors.

[@southrodney]

It’s not free bro lmao, nothing from the government is “free” they tax you

[@coweatsman]

@@southrodney It's not free (der!!!) but neither is an elevator in a building. There are savings from free public transport, from road building and parking infrastructure to not having to employ turnstile attendants and ticket inspectors. You know what else is not free. The roads we travel on although there are no turnstiles to negotiate before driving on the road.

[@sterkriger2572]

@@southrodney imagine being taxed and still pay for public transport

[@LN997-i8x]

@@coweatsman An elevator is paid for by the building owner though, not everyone in the city.

[@coweatsman]

@@LN997-i8x And? Public transport is paid by the owners of the public transport - us, we the people. Why not?

[@wubbadubnub]

The MTA is dangerous, dirty, disease ridden and dysfunctional, and it's been like that for the last 50 years. It's very difficult to convince people to pay 2.75 for a shitty service that people don't even bother to maintain regardless of the fares. Let alone the fact that they spent 30 million on a staircase.

[@srdjan455]

Don't let the automobile industry kill public transportation in new York

[@ryandgarland]

They need a taxpayer bailout! Give them all your money!! You paid for your subway ride..oh well pay for everyone else's too!

[@The_k81]

If only we spent as much money on public transit as we spent bailing out banks...

[@kaseyc5078]

@@The_k81 call Joe Biden