Analysis: Assemblyman floats more lenient consequences for BART fare evasion
We're not the only ones scratching our heads at LA Assemblyman Isaac Bryan's proposed AB 819: The Globe's Ted Gaines breaks down why redefining BART “fare dodging” from a misdemeanor to a crime with a $400 max fine will make public transit more dangerous and less profitable in the long run.
At issue is Assembly Bill 819 by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), which will decriminalize “fare jumping” on the Bay Area’s Rapid Transit system (BART).
Now, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed any of the countless articles, videos, news stories, opinion pieces, and personal anecdotes about San Francisco’s death spiral. It is the homeless mecca, the smash-and-grab capital, the temple of brazen shoplifting, and the nation’s biggest open-air drug market. Commercial property prices are plummeting. Businesses can’t leave fast enough.
I pray the city, which is so important to the state’s prosperity, can turn itself around.
With all those problems, why would the legislature think now is a good time to turn BART into an accountability-free zone for criminals? The system itself is already a distillation of the city’s problems, having devolved into a rolling homeless shelter. The videos of drug zombies clogging BART stations are shocking. I can’t imagine a family hopping on a BART train and heading to San Francisco, knowing what might await them during and after their rides.
Incredibly, Sacramento wants to make it all worse.
AB 819 will eliminate the ability to charge chronic fare evaders with a misdemeanor. Under this bill, the worst possible punishment any fare jumper could receive would be a $400 fine. I will go out on a limb and say anyone repeatedly cheating BART out of fare will not be ponying up the $400. This will be mock justice that leads to an even sorrier system, hard as that is to believe. It will make fools of law-abiding citizens who want a clean, safe transportation system and dutifully pay their fares to support it.
This article originally appeared in the California Globe. Read the whole thing here.
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