SEATTLE, Wash. — Sound Transit is about to get a new tool to help the agency crack down on people who aren't paying to ride.
If approved by Gov. Jay Inslee, handheld devices will allow fare enforcement officers to issue citations right on the spot.
Cornell Griffin has been a fare enforcement officer for Sound Transit nearly five years.
KIRO 7 went along with Griffin as he checked to see if people were trying to ride without paying on the light rail.
"They're actually evaders," he said. "We call them 'runners.'"
Sound Transit said about 3 percent of riders on the Central Link light rail and about 2 percent of riders on the Sounder train try to avoid paying their fares.
With just under 29,000 people boarding the light rail on a weekday and about 11,500 on the Sounder commuter rail, those statistics suggest hundreds of potential citations.
A woman escorted off the light rail Friday was one of them. She admitted she didn't swipe her One Regional Card for All (ORCA) card.
"I didn't hit it because the train was about to leave and I had to get on the train, that's what happened," the woman, who identified herself as Lynn, said.
"But that's basically not paying your fare," KIRO 7 said.
She agreed.
"So you decided to just not pay your fare," KIRO 7 said.
"Well yeah, because I have places to go," she said.
Even though Sound Transit police stopped her, Griffin doesn't have the ability to check her record or cite her on the spot.
Fare enforcement officers have to take a photo of potential fare evaders' IDs. Back at the office after their shifts, they often spend another hour checking to see if people have been warned before and warrant citations. If so, they have to fill out a lot of paperwork and send that paperwork to the courts to issue the tickets.
That's all about to change.
"It's going to help us tremendously," Griffin said.
Inslee is expected to sign a bill into law in the next 20 days that would allow fare enforcement officers to issue the $124 tickets on the light rail and Sounder train, immediately.
"It's going to save us money in the long run by allowing our officers to spend more time in the field," Sound Transit spokesperson Bruce Gray said, "and we can do the work with fewer officers."
Paying riders said it's a great idea.
"I think anybody that's not paying their fares needs to be cited right there," Runette Ligons said.
Sound Transit said the new handheld equipment that issues tickets will probably cost $60,000 to $90,000. Gray said part of the money saved by not having to hire as many fare enforcement officers will help pay for it.
The agency would roll it out for officers on the Link and Sounder train over 12-18 months, once approved.
KIRO
