One of the most disturbing policies at WMATA is the requirement that all cash paying disabled passengers must pay their fare on the sidewalk, before boarding all paratransit vehicles. By comparison, no Metrobus customers are required to do the same. Actually, WMATA is the only one of the top three largest paratransit systems in the country that has adopted this discriminatory practice.
WMATA justifies this heavy-handed policy because they claim that a few riders once boarded their vehicle and refused to pay their fare. So, if you are a disabled paratransit rider it means that you are considered a high-risk fare cheat suspect at WMATA. Essentially this policy says, lock the disabled down tight so that, God forbid, none of them can get away from paying their $6.50 highest paratransit fare in the land.
Does this seem familiar? Yes, it is called disabled profiling, the ugly cousin of racial profiling.
Is this policy a demonstration of Metro’s sound effective fiscal management of taxpayer dollars that fund the system, or a highhanded discriminatory over reaction?
Let us look at the facts. WMATA reports that in the first half of FY2022 about 34% of Metrobus riders did not pay their fare. This has resulted in a loss of ten million dollars. If this trend continues it could mean that Metro will sustain a loss of at least twice that at the end of the year. This is not a new problem. It has been going on for years and years. Has WMATA introduced any policies to force all Metrobus riders to pay their fare on the sidewalk before boarding? No. Have they introduced any policies to lock down or profile Metrobus passengers in any way so that they must pay their fare before boarding? No. Is there any realistic chance, based on Metro’s history, that they will crack down on these Metrobus fare cheats? No. Actually the DC Council voted 11 to 2 to decriminalize fare evasion on Metro. Metro has also lowered the fares for Metro riders on the weekend.
By comparison there are no official multimillion dollar Metro paratransit fare evasion loss reports or even one news media report of MetroAccess riders not paying to ride. Even if every last MetroAccess paratransit rider evaded their fare for one year, which will never happen, it would only amount to $5 million anyway. Metro estimates that they will lose upwards of $50 million in fares this year when Metrorail and Metrobus fare evasion losses are combined.
So, why the hostile, over-the-top, discriminatory profiling of disabled riders when you don’t have a real problem with disabled fare evaders? This reminds me of states that boasts of the security and integrity of their election system, yet they are hell bent on passing an avalanche of restrictive legislation to protect the vote that will discourage many from voting or participating in elections on any level.
Metro representatives said that they adopted this policy of discrimination profiling in consultation with the WMATA Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC). It was very shocking and devastating to get this news since this committee is made up of only disabled people. It feels like WMATA is recruiting disabled individuals who are being used to work against the interest of the community this way if anyone questions their disabled policy, all they have to say is that they have the blessing of all these disabled folks on the AAC. How very clever, convenient, but exploitative of Metro to use members of the disabled community to protect their hides. This is so wrong.
Other than the blatant discrimination and disrespect of being forced to pay on the sidewalk, there is the hardship and dangers of the practice. Here are just a few:
- Opening a purse or wallet and exposing your money in some neighborhoods cannot be considered safe because of the criminal element
- Has any Metro paratransit policy maker tried to pay their fare in rain, in snow, in severe cold, or in high winds with a disability? Just in case there is a “small chance” that they have not, I have, and it is a stressful, painful, and difficult exercise. For sighted folks who make Metro policy, close your eyes, simulating blindness, and try to take folded dollar bills from different compartments of your purse or wallet with thick gloves on in freezing temperatures and winds blowing. Let me predict, you will not be able to do it.
How could any person on the AAC approve this wrongheaded harmful policy? It is beyond my ability to comprehend. I consider this a case of disability advocacy malpractice.
Let me say clearly that I do not believe that anyone should break the law and refuse to pay their fare.
One way to fix this problem is for Metro to adopt a free fare ADA paratransit policy.
Short of that, for the minuscule number of paratransit passengers who refuse to pay their fare after boarding, simply let the rider know that fare evasion is a violation of the law. If the passenger still refuses to pay, transport the rider to the scheduled destination so that other passengers and the driver’s schedule are not disrupted. However, the offending passenger should not be allowed to book another trip until the fare is paid. This way only the fare evader is impacted and paying customers will not be affected.
Adopting measures like disability profiling that forces disabled riders to pay on the sidewalk is clumsy and draconian policy making. It is collective punishment of all disabled paratransit riders for the sins of a microscopic minority of fare evasion sinners. Policy reform is desperately needed at MetroAccess. It is time for reform and reboot at WMATA.