On a recent Tuesday, Metro Transit police officers Noah Landers and Richelle Knode boarded a southbound Blue Line train looking for riders who hadn't paid their fare. It didn't take them long to find a couple headed to the airport with airline tickets in hand, but no train ticket.
The couple were asked to get off at the 46th Street Station and buy tickets before continuing their trip.
Booming light-rail ridership is being monitored by a growing transit police force — and curious fellow passengers. Between January and September, the Blue Line provided 7.16 million rides. Since its debut in June, nearly 3.5 million rides were taken on the Green Line, which saw weekday ridership in September alone average 37,170 — or 35 percent higher than projections for 2015.
Though trains are crowded, riders such as Michael Hall say they don't see many people buying tickets from machines on platforms, and they wonder how many freeloaders are getting on board.
Metro Transit says more than 98 percent of riders pay the required $1.75 fare ($2.25 during rush hours). Of course, some don't.
"On a system built on the honor system, people are going to try to take advantage of it sometimes," said Metro Transit Deputy Police Chief A.J. Olson. "That is not a big number. Most people are paying their fare."
Metro Transit has 12 full-time police officers inspecting fares on the Blue Line, and 12 more on the Green Line. When additional officers are hired, the number on the Green Line will rise to 20.
Officers ride the rails at all hours of the day; through September they had asked 958,719 riders to show proof of payment. They have issued 7,783 warnings, including to the couple caught heading to MSP. Officers have issued 1,180 citations, a misdemeanor carrying a $180 fine plus administrative fees.
