the biggest reason, fare evasion. people riding the system for free without any accountability. there are no gates, no turnstiles. people are supposed to buy a ticket or tap their payment card when they get on the train and when they get off. that s not happening a majority of the time. fare revenue dipped to $30 million in 2020. the pandemic is only part of the story. fare collection system relies on an honor system and our acute problem is our riders aren t honoring the system. here is the catch. there is pretty much zero enforcement. no police or fare officers. they use what they call fare ambassadors. they only contact 2% of riders if someone hasn t paid. ask for identification. 76% don t show any which means there is no warning or fine down the road. the people are allowed to stay on the train. all this done because black people were getting fined at greater rates than white riders. critics say it is part of a