Sound Transit staff express frustration with non-paying riders | FOX 13 Seattle
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 1 май 2022
- The department is hoping for some type of accountability for those who don't pay their fares. There are supposed to be infractions, but they are difficult to enforce.
Subscribe to FOX 13 Seattle: ruclips.net/user/fox13seattl...
Watch FOX 13 Seattle Live: www.q13fox.com/live
FOX 13 Seattle is Western Washington's source for breaking news, weather, traffic, politics and sports. Home of Washington's Most Wanted and the official TV partner of the Seattle Seahawks, Sounders FC and Storm Basketball.
Download the FOX 13 Seattle News App: q13fox.onelink.me/PeGO/7e4d2af8
Download the FOX 13 Seattle Weather App: jckig.app.link/dlUcXuM2Peb
Subscribe to FOX 13 Seattle newsletters: www.q13fox.com/newsletters
Follow FOX 13 Seattle on Facebook: / fox13seattle
Follow FOX 13 Seattle on Twitter: / fox13seattle
Follow FOX 13 Seattle on Instagram: / fox13seattle
![Eminem - Houdini [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/22tVWwmTie8/mqdefault.jpg)
And I pay RTA tax why? Just another example of the failure to make criminals accountable in Washington.
How about admitting that the moral failure of society is to blame! I’m not a republican, but, when you change laws so people do what they want. Example; WA no longer requires people to carry identification!!!
I don't pay RTA anymore. They're de-criminalizing everything, so don't pay it & don't worry about TABS for your car :)
The homeless smoke and leave garbage all on the train and sound transit don’t even clean them I wouldn’t pay for that shit either
Just bring back the OG Transit police’s with their beat sticks /taser 😂
😂 exactly! It be cool if they dressed like English bobbys too lol
Costs money too.
They gonna get robbed for their tasers and Ima use it on them
Hewl yeah 👍
Bring back all the law enforcement in general! At what point will we say what we’ve been doing isn’t working?!
I've literally watched ambassadors be harassed purely for asking , everyone's in danger
no lie if I paid and someone came to hassle me I'd tear em a new one.
@@ShieldThane thats not harassment, or hassling. It's asking you to pull out your fucking wallet.
@@ShieldThane
Upon site, I'd ask you ever single time you ride. D******
1st error was calling them "ambassadors". Idiots.
@@ShieldThane Ummm....I don't think you have much to be proud of with your reading comprehension there CE.
ENFORCE THE LAW
I'm with Dave and Cassie on this one... what the hell is the point unless you're gonna enforce it and therefore, why does everyone else pay? The world has gotten so d*mn P.C. about everything and people are getting away with stuff all the time. Murder?! Well maybe not, but the kind of people who do this will go on to do plenty of other things for the rest of their life until they're held ACCOUNTABLE for their actions. THAT'S why Seattle has so much crime! Break-ins, casing homes, car thefts/smashes, homeless everywhere, random acts of violence, dine & dashers etc... we need to start cracking down on this or it'll overrun our entire society!!!
Would you police it without a paycheck?
Hey now- we can't take the risk of hurting a criminal's feelings.🤨
We already paid to make it. Fare should be to enough to cover maintenance plus 5% to cover bigger repairs, not to cover the next extension that we're also paying the majority of.
@@voodooviking1230
The skateboarder people that attacked Kyle and survived was policing-treating the pre meditated murderer as if he was an active shooter.
The answer must be no, because Kyle does no policing in his home state.
@@thomoose1388
That's a very good point.
People don't realize that it's been funded by the citizens already. Maybe it shouldn't be 100% free but still it's a good point.
As a Londoner now calling the PNW home I’ve never seen as much fare evasion as here. The unbelievable entitlement of a culture of some people to disrespect drivers, ticket checkers etc. On the 550 from Bellevue to Seattle we used to scan the bus line to guess who’d simply walk past the driver or offer some bs reason why they didn’t have a fare. This is genuinely the first area I’ve ever lived where I wondered myself why I bothered topping up my Orca. Seattle has created a culture of free and it’ll take a long time to change this. Good luck Sound Transit
It’s because it pays to be a victim in Seattle. Only a sucker pays what they should.
Seattle has established a culture where 'everything should be free'. Healthcare should be free. Education should be free. Transportation should be free. Housing should be free. Seriously, they should consider cancelling the light rail extensions to West Seattle and Ballard. You can't run a transit system that takes in ZERO revenue. Spending billions and letting everyone ride free is a huge slap to the car drivers paying for this system. And in the future they want drivers to pay by the mile. Are those drivers going to have the option to ignore that payment system? No way. It's untenable to have car drivers pay billions to build transit that people can choose to pay or not. Yet, when car drivers refuse to pay a toll, they are fined heavily.
@@DataRich2525 being from Europe I am used to an excellent integrated mass transit system. I am not used to being somewhere where the culture of peoples within a region view paying for travel with complete disregard. There is so much potential in developing the light rail here, however of course it completely lacks credibility if revenue is not taken from those who use it. I sympathize completely with the position of everybody who contributes or is forced to contribute for something like this in completely flawed social environment.
@@pnwlion9337 That's how I feel. Seattle has a long tragic history of trying to build rail transit. The light rail has a bit of a confused identity. Some people want it to be a regional system to get people in and out of Seattle. And some people want it to be a subway system just for Seattle. They seem to have decided to build another tunnel under the Seattle downtown and in Ballard and in West Seattle at massive costs. The line to West Seattle seems to be headed to the ferry dock. However that ferry is a car ferry and only carries a handful of walk ons so that doesn't seem to make sense.
@@DataRich2525 that’s completely insane, the rapid line C easily accommodates Fauntleroy foot traffic to downtown. Like I say I’m very much in favour of mass transit, but the rapid line bus system pre virus was a great solution and only lite rail routes that parallel the 5 or 90 can genuinely reduce traffic into Seattle itself. Even Ballard has a great rapid line (D) but you have to take fares or ditch those who don’t want to pay to make anything viable. I feel for the operators themselves who cannot drive and challenge the entitled, drugged, or out and out bum who leach off of the rest of us. I’m always excited by mass transit expansion but not here.
As someone in the customer service industry myself, I feel bad for the fare ambassadors. They will get terrible treatment constantly for non payers. But I am so sick of it myself seeing riders get a free ride. Enough already!!
Not a police matter
They should be frustrated about the crack, meth, heroine, body fluids and feces riders have to inhale and risk their health and lives every time they take public transportation. All public transportation should be free until it is safe for everyone.
And they don’t clean the trains I wouldn’t pay for that shit either
I use the light rail once a month. Last Sunday both ticket machines were “out of service” beginning at Northgate. I like to purchase the “all day” pass…so worth it…but it quickly became a hot mess.
Same with Metro. I have to WORK to be able to afford a bus ride, while other people refuse to pay their fair share and just hop on the bus as they please. And not all of them are indigent, either. Many are dressed nicely, carrying shopping bags, etc., they just think they are too special to pay.
I’ll pay when they start making these bums pay. Got me messed up thinking im going to pay 7-12$ a day to take a bus where people are doing drugs and smells like shit while the bus driver can’t do anything about it.
I thought when thurston got rid of the bus fare it would have been nice but now its nothing but homeless that ride the bus to no where.
Disneyland enforces their ticket policies. Because there’s a consequence if you don’t pay. As for public transit fares, eventually when money from fares does not cover expenses then the local city or state government will be required to make up the difference which means they will add a new tax to everyone.
Thats not a bad comparison. Disneyland and the circus in Wa state. Ironically Disneyland is much stricter!
They already do this, if you own a house near a bus stop you pay taxes that goes straight to sounds transit, also if you live in king count and own a new car each year you pay around 200 -300 dollars when you renew your car tabs. Which means if you own a home or a car in king county you are taxed for a public transportation system you may not even use
@@huit6
Sounds like a true liberal state of affairs.
Lol why do homeless get to ride free just cuz there homeless and everyone else gotta go to work and pay for transit!
Homeless people got no where they have to be compared to your average employee who has to commute to and from home to the office/job. Nah they pay money,these homeless shouldn't be allowed on the train,it's a unnecessary risk.
That's my take
Idk about the other issue of making everyone pay fairly,I'll leave that up to you guys 😂
Homeless people get reduced fare orca cards........
Last week, I saw a class of high school students with teachers went onboard without tapping. So much for teaching honest system.
Haha I see it all too often, lots of homeless.
If you think the link is bad you should see the buses...usually folks but in just a dollar when the fare is 3.25..the commuters always pay but everyone else shorts it or doesn’t pay at all or has a broken orca card...it’s the culture here where people have been lead to believe they shouldn’t have to pay because of any number of excuses..
Good for them teachers ain't getting paid our schools don't have the funding the hell the give need it for? To keep these big ass pot holes alive? Not like they spend it on anything helpful.
@@BFaluup not necessarily but kinda, It’s always been a buck where I’m at 😂. I’m in fed and the bus driver’s are on ppls shit abt fairs plus the thing counts it now cash wise soooo..
Students don't pay
No accountability seems to be a common theme in Wa. Usually is fault of piss poor leadership.
Put the gate at the entrance, no payment gate won’t open ! Simple!! Lol
The South End - Rainier Beach, Othello and Columbia City Station run on surface MLK Street. You'll have fare jumpers go on the tracks to try and bypass the turnstile gate.
You'll see it at SODO and Stadium Stations too.
Dumb thing to try but Forrest Gump said it best .... Stupid is, is what Stupid does.
Getting one Scofflaw runned over by a Train is more headache than it's worth.
FYI, it's easy to see why the old couple got hit crossing the street by Columbia City Station. Several times cross street light timing in the area is on for 6 seconds due to on coming train. Happens a lot going through Graham street.
@@hillyseattlenarrowstreets6087 Yeah, the only places where turnstiles would work would be the monorail and ferries since those practically have physical barriers 100% physically surround station Fare-Paid Zones while Link doesn't have enough physical barriers at stations to prevent cheaters from entering without paying.
They need to be more concerned about junkies getting high in the middle of routes with families and normal civilans trapped on Board.
I just don’t get this. Here in Phoenix, we have fare enforcement who can ask for ID legally and can ticket you. They also have handcuffs.
It’s the laws that’s the problem. You guys create rules with no backbone to enforce anything.
It is becoming a bed room for the homeless. I even saw last week a man box/ under garment left on the chair, a few month ago a homeless man touching him self sitting the chair behind 2 womens etc.We need to see those safety officers often.
How about renters that refuse to pay rent. Governor Inslee DOESN'T care it's not his Money. Only when the Government doesn't get their money do they they care. Horrible Governor
What did they expect...
Imagine, a rotating door affair, like at airports. Now it has a sliding door that opens on the far side to let you into the train, assuming you have paid. If not, it just keeps rotating without opening the door, returning you back to where you started. Easy peasy... Lemon squeezy! To quote the person in the newscast, "So far we haven't been able to come up with something that will work." How much are they paying the members of this think tank, anyway? Good Lord!
*lmao blame the Council that pushes Equity*
Send in the social workers...
This is part of the new normal as long as acts like these are given excuses.
Must be like Las Vegas metro ...." No Fare - No Ride "....no playing around and if you harass the driver ...your going to jail plain and simple !
That’s a Red area with Law and Order. Don’t use American Order ideas in a Commie Seattle
@@chuckruckus3648 lol. Spoken like a npc
@@darthmaul216 if you were educated in modern culture you would know NPC is reserved for those on the left. On the right would be ultra mega MAGA or trumptard or deplorable or fentanyl white etc etc.
Tbh I feel like my biggest walk away is that the ST Board, and the CEO get paid obscene amounts of taxpayers money (CEO took home 375,000 last year), for not doing much in the way of work themselves. Those fare ambassadors that were mentioned make like 49,000/year, while management gets fat off the labor of others.
Am sure if you start charge skipped fare into ST leadership’s wage, they’ll figure out a way to collect from all riders.
They never give a description of the criminals.
Why?
Because You're
Going to Make the
Blck 'kidz' Angry.
All those people speaking on the Sound Transit board all sound ridiculous those people that wear those blue vest are going to get seriously hurt by some drugged-out homeless guy gets going on a Bender
Great to see that sound transit has fixed these issues
We let A LOT of things slide for the sake of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, but everyone must pay something. Figure out a way to create a discounted fare for poor people, or just make it FREE for everyone.
Where do you think the money they require for maintenance, work force, and various expansion projects should come from? The sales tax is only getting them so far
Got me messed up thinking I’m going to pay when they never make the bums who do drugs and take shits on busses pay.
So I guess the tax payers have to make up the fare deficit? And those who would evade paying every now and then, will now stop paying completely? Then why waste salary on fare enforcement when the only one who are showing their ids are those who paid for the tickets?
So to answer the question as to why ST does not use turnstiles? It’s because turnstiles are expensive. A turnstiles can cost between $1600 to $20000 each. Many European countries have done away with turnstiles due to high costs and favoring efficiency.
Also there are portions of the light rail system that a turnstile would not be effective and a waste of money. Stations along Rainer are good examples. Someone could simply just walk around the turnstiles given the design of those stations
I agree, unless there are functional platform screen barriers on every platform at every Link station, turnstiles just technically won't work with Link currently. If turnstiles were to be used now, it's only feasible on the Monorail and ferries which has barriers to practically 100% physically surround station Fare-Paid Zones.
Ridiculous that we can't have $30 tabs because of sound transit.
When you say that it's racist for some people to have to pay because they can't afford it or don't know how to pay then as a society we should all stop paying. Make everyone pay and don't base it on the color of their skin.
I’m mad at seattle saying that cops targeting people who aren’t wearing helmets is racist . My brother got in a motorcycle accident and broke his back t1-t4 and broke all his ribs and his nose . He was wearing a helmet . It saved his life . No brain injury or trauma . Just might not be able ti walk again …. Point is , helmet saves life’s and i seen a lot of little kids riding on scooters fast without a helmet . No police telling them too .
On the buses, those who act crazy will get on for free. Hard working citizens usually have to pay.
well when you dont check or kick people off who dont pay why would they ive never actually seen anyone pay at the lander station
What did you expect in a place like Seattle???
I agree.
We need to bring back Jenney Durkin.
We need a modern turn style system to fix this issue
First, why was not a part of the plan to enforce payment with a force that can actually enforce? Poor planning.
They really need to add better signage. I always thought you only needed to tag in... and since my Orca card is supplied by my employer I have no idea if I was even paying them
Time to grow balls n enforce some fines regardless of profiling or raise the fares on the link only
An awesome transit system, but with poor leadership and no direction, it can only get worse.
To quote the great Jules Winnfield, "We should have shotguns for this kind of deal."
Lol I knew this day would come. I ride the light rail everyday and I see people all the time not walk up to a pay station and pay. They just walk up the stairs/escalator/elevator and not give a shit about paying. Now this is biting Sound Transit on the ass. Maybe they should have thought of having a turnstile or revolving metal door like NYC or LA. But nope, Sound Transit was dump enough to think people will actually stop at a paystation and pay on their own merit. Lol now the jokes on them. 😂
But requiring people to pay will disproportionately affect historically marginalized communities!
Nope, foolish Seattle won’t do it.
why not add a gate before entrance. pay first then able to enter area. this is fail system and still take Tab dollars every year for who know how long project complete 👎
"Fare enforcement" is considered racist in Seattle. Not kidding, this is how those people really think. They also are dismantling the magnet program in the public school system because there aren't enough "black and brown kids" who are the ones "farthest from educational justice." You can't make this shit up.
So we pay RTA taxes for something we don't use and the people who use them don't want to pay.🤔🤔🤔🤔
The drivers and workers need to be quiet because if someone assaulted them that's another problem police and security is the only answer.
Y’all better pay your fare yall. Don’t cheat the system support the city and pay your fare!!
Fuuuck that shit. We paid in advance let the city support us for once.
@@emiliogonzalez15 Do you shoplift in front of your kids?
@@scottowensbyable nice logical fallacy
I see it every morning and I wonder why I am I paying?
Why? Because you have self respect and riding Metro is not free. Those who don't pay are breaking the law.
U show the FA walk by the area where the old lady was thrown down the stairs in Chinatown
We know you meant Equality
This whole place is going and they're worrying about fares, "the zombies"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!!!
According to his math 1.3 billion in 25 yearsis 52 milli9n per year. That sound accurate....
Just have one of those gates that can only be unlock when you have orca card or once you pay…
Of course putting a gate at the point of fare payment is beyond these smoothbrains.
Maybe they’re that broke, they can’t even afford gates,
Then at least the escalators will not be the only thing constantly broken.
They should check with the city employees who dish out annual passes. I have asked repeatedly for my replacement card and it has been a month since a worker said that he would send it right out. Still waiting...
No free rides for homeless unless it's to a detox tank
Maybe if the fare ambassadors actually did their jobs and stayed off their phone stuff would change. Also if sound transit announced scheduled closures of lines in stations instead of making people wait 1+ hour..
People are still walking into stores & just taking what they want without paying. Grocery stores,drug stores, target, Walmart, you name it.
No repercussions.
Didn’t Seattle used to have a free zone. Why would anyone pay? The drivers are paying through 300$ tag fees
Use to have a free zone here in Portland to. But they took it away because homeless people was using the system lol
Dude transit should be free
Seattle transit should of added turn style entrances where you scan your card /ticket like every other city who has a metro it’s their own fault for not implementing it in the first place
They just hop over like they do in NYC
@@aryanpashtun416 modern turnstiles aren't like the NYC ones. Most are swing doors that make it impossible to jump or crawl under.
The light rail systems in the rest of the country have been designed with no gates and an honor system backed up by fare enforcement however. No ticket, no ride. But the agency screwed up that system by getting rid of enforcement and having fare ambassadors do the enforcement. Those poor people. They've been shafted with an impossible job by Sound Transit and now the standard has been set as not paying.
I think they should consider adding fare gates and turnstiles at each station, it's more doable than Portland's MAX, and some stations already have yellow lines marking where the station begins and they do have the space for it. Overall the price of installing fare gates and turnstiles and dealing with website changes relating to that would still end up saving them money from all the people who now have to pay. And if you jump a turnstile or try to cheat it, someone will see you and hopefully more will be able to be done. They could also put up barriers like in New York City so that if you jumped a gate, you would not be able to fit.
Let’s be honest, who is going to pay for something if payment is basically optional. They have no grounds to enforce payment unless it’s an actual cop which they got rid of, and I have honestly never saw a fair ambassador. And to top it all off which is the solution and the problem NO TURNSTILES 🤦♂️. 🤣🤣🤣🤣This is a joke and obviously a planned problem for a future issue to be excused.
No law wa its awesome I can do anything I want here and you can do nothing about it I love this state
🤣🤣 what do you think happens when you don't hold criminals accountable?! you folks are hilarious 😆
I thought that's why they have transit police???
The fare paying system is too expensive and we paid for the system the government didn't pay from their pockets.
I don't see people pay
The whole business of collecting fares is wasteful, even if everyone pays the fare (machines, readers, software, enforcement, admin, etc.). We can raise the same money without those expenses by simply uping taxes. We already pay for the majority of it with taxes, and we should because transit is a public good for everyone, even if you don't use it. Lots of transit systems are fare-free, including here in WA. Just scrap fares altogether and you save yourself a bunch of cost and hassle, plus it will encourage more riders, which is good. We'd even save ourselves the time of having this discussion.
I seem to remember a vote to reduce car tabs back to 30$ but state had to have funds for transit. So turnabout is fair play.
Pay if you can, no hassle. Ever car on the road funds these programs
Good. Good public transit reduces the number of cars on the road
jus let everyone ride for free… the bus is getting to where it goes regardless
Fare gates would solve a lot of this imo
I feel it should be digital and only digital. Mainly all buses should be like this. You shouldn’t get a free ride if you can’t pay.
Sound transit does not seem to be sound. So much for high tech investment in equipment based on honesty from riders.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣 free rides!!! I use to pay for a monthly pass, but then I realized that you don't need to. 🤣😂🤣
Here is whats happening with light rail open air Stations and they did nothing to in the last 7 years.
1. The homeless sleeping on the trains and also urinating on the sites.
2. No security at open air Stations
3. Homeless sleeping on open air Stations urinating and even defecating.
4. People Smoking on open air Stations
5. Not pressure washing open stations .
6. Soo many Rates in open air Stations
Fare ambassadors lol what a joke they need real transit police. As a bus driver it would be better for all transit workers if they had real trai ed police with the ability to arrest and book criminals and write real citation tickets to violators of the rules and laws.
Oh, were suppose to pay?
cough cough fare gates
Well if you ain’t fining people then that’s your fault.
Better question is who died on your train as a worker or ambassador to pay for your screw ups. The so called Fentanyl problem.
Imagine going broke because you don’t want to offend people who scam the system. Only the government could do this. Private businesses would be bankrupt.
The RTA taxes are huge so either let the riders ride free or lower the taxes and put in turnstiles.
"We haven't figured it out yet." How about look to what more successful systems around the world are doing......
I wanna go home 🏡 this is not a place 4 me.
Why don’t they just do like they do in NYC and put in cages at stations where you put in a token you buy to pet you through
Seattle/Sound Transit Light Rail Name Competition:
SHOPLIFTER SHUTTLE
VEIN TRAIN
THE STABBIN' STATION
PORKOPALYPSE
That’s I-405 bud
Bottom line is we suck ass. We have no honor anymore and you literally do have to force people to behave honorably with punishment. When I visited Melbourne, Australia, it’s not much different. Not many people pay on the tram. They’re more likely to swipe their cards for the trains, but not the trams, especially if they’re just going a stop or two.
Don’t worry, they’ll just raise taxes so that people who may not even take the train will pay for it .
Just know you will have them. I worked retail for 2 months watching people steal my entire shift...observe and report. You don't know why a person hasn't paid. There are so many scenarios.
AND THERE'S PLENTY OF EXCUSES 😜 IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN !
Also by creating this segment your telling more people they don’t have to pay. The people who run these segments have the lowest iq 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
I thought our taxes paid for these rides
Its air bnb just is its like the crypto of house
Honestly it’s a very bad design. The card readers are hidden away and it’s wide open to walk on. Honestly could see people not even knowing they need to or how to pay. I’m also a believer that public transit is a necessity with a cost. We pay taxes for it.
While I agree fares should be paid you might think about lowering that ridiculous fare in the first place. Public transit should be very inexpensive, no more than a dollar or free. You do want people to stop driving and ride the bus right? The non payers are not going to end transit just make lots of headaches for funding so try to find a middle ground that the poor and homeless can afford. I rarely take the bus as I am homeless and can not afford almost 3 dollars to ride the bus. Perhaps if the transfer was all day that might be acceptable.
Also the city just voted to make free transportation for ages 18 and younger so if the city can do that they can easily make transportation free for everybody it is called public transportation for a reason.
Are you a shoplifter too?
@@scottowensbyable how does suggesting public transportation be used to benefit the public make me a shoplifter? Lol 😂
We are already paying gor this through our taxes and I have never rode sound transit
I agree. Its 2022 and we are supposed to be progressing as a society yet we cant even make basic transportation free after 50+ years, yet we give billions of dollars to Ukraine...The whole thing is a clown show.
@@exploreinglife4240 suggesting everything should be free for everybody. If children are not accompanied by an adult they should stay home. This is not 1950s Europe. Our youth have not been raised for responsible citizenship and actions.
Your a private company contracting
The system setup was due to cost and the hope people will do the right thing. Unfortunately 35% of riders want their cake and eat it too. They are cheats and with no consequences if they don't pay, they won't.
And will be do goody City council not enforce any punishment because we are stealing from the poor and homeless, it will continue