Fare-enforcement targets poor, non-white, disabled riders

But the MTA system is not perfect. The ticketing machines frequently malfunction. And from my vantage point riding the light rail several times a week, MTA police seem to target the poor, African Americans and disabled with fines they are unable to pay.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-1226-baltimore-mta-public-transportation-20191225-s2lpbhbvojgqlaazwwfm6ud2mu-story.html 

Fare-evasion enforcement is about racism, not revenue

The controversy has focused on penalties for those who do not pay for their transit trip, thereby committing “fare evasion.” Punishment can be stiff: in the District of Columbia fare evaders on the local transit system, Metro, could get a $300 fine and 10 days in jail. That’s hard to square that with a comparably light $30 fine for an expired parking meter in the District of Columbia—especially since transit riders are more likely to be minorities or have incomes below $15,000 than the general population. According to the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, 91 percent of summons for fare evasion in the District between January 2016 and February 2018 were issued to African-Americans.

https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2019/02/washington-fare-evasion-free-public-transport-train-ticket/582160/