Washington Metro Bus Drivers Defy Fare-Announcement Rule, Citing Safety Risks
Key Takeaways
- •The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has adopted a policy requiring bus drivers to verbally quote the $2.25 fare to passengers.
- •Eight current Metro employees and two former employees who work at the union representing Metro workers told The Washington Post that announcing the fare is ineffective and may increase the risk of harassment or assault against bus operators.
- •Several drivers, including Metro employee Dabis, said they are disregarding the policy in order to protect their own safety.
- •Metro said in 2024 that roughly 70 percent of bus riders did not pay their fares.
- •Several U.S. transit agencies instruct drivers not to confront fare evaders at all, leaving enforcement to inspectors or police instead.
A recent post on Marginal Revolution, headlined "Another rationale for sticky prices?", spotlights a policy change at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority requiring bus drivers to verbally quote the $2.25 fare to passengers — a rule that Metro employee Dabis predicted will make the job even riskier. The headline nods to the economics concept of "sticky prices" — prices that resist change even when underlying costs shift — framing the episode as a case where the burden of a fare lies not only in setting it, but in announcing and enforcing it.
Eight current Metro employees and two former employees who work at the union representing Metro workers told The Washington Post that they are concerned announcing the fare is ineffective and may increase the risk that bus operators will be harassed or assaulted. As a result, several drivers said they are disregarding the policy to keep themselves safe. Their concern echoes a broader pattern in U.S. transit, where fare disputes have long been a flashpoint for assaults on operators, and several agencies instruct drivers not to confront fare evaders at all, leaving enforcement to inspectors or police rather than the person behind the wheel.
"It's very disheartening to think that a company would put their operators in harm's way by allowing this type of change," said Dabis, who is among those refusing to quote the fare. "I just want to go home the same way that I came to work: healthy, unharmed. I love this company. I love the customers. But quoting the fare is just too much."
Fare evasion has plagued Metro for years. In 2024, Metro said about 70 percent of bus riders didn't pay — a problem The Washington Post examined in its 2024 coverage of bus fare evasion, linked below. That backdrop places the announcement rule at the intersection of two agency priorities, collecting fares and protecting operators, and the drivers' refusal to comply is central to whether the policy can take hold.
The full story is available at The Washington Post. Related: The Washington Post's 2024 coverage of Metro bus fare evasion. Marginal Revolution credited Rich for the pointer.
