The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) board approved important modifications to the agency’s Fare Enforcement Diversion Program. The program changes will be phased in over the next months starting with educating riders about the new rules.

Starting on February 1, 2025 riders caught without a valid fare during MTS security inspections will be issued a citation immediately. MTS security will no longer offer a chance to buy a fare or validate fares on-the-spot.

Focusing on Trolley Riders

While the policy changes will be system-wide, the largest impact will be felt by Trolley riders.

Once the change takes effect riders will automatically receive a citation if they don’t have a valid fare while riding the Trolley. A citation will result in a $25 fine if cleared through the MTS Diversion Program.

If the citation is not cleared within 120 days, it may result in an estimated $192 fine or more in traffic court.

Riders with no previous citations will have the opportunity to have their first citation dismissed when they appeal through the Diversion Program. Riders also have the ability to appeal the citation directly to MTS in other select cases.

A New Payment Method

The agency will also introduce convenient online and phone payment options for citations, enhancing the ease of compliance for riders.

Current payment methods include checks mailed to the agency or in-person payments at the MTS Transit Store. The new online and phone payment options aim to streamline the process.

A recent analysis of agency fare collection estimates that MTS experienced a loss of $17 million to $23 million in fare revenue due to fare evasion from May 2022 to July 2024.

The analysis also revealed that more than 57,000 riders per month are not paying their fare unless an on-the-spot payment is taken by an MTS Security officer while the rider is already on board.

Since MTS Security officers are not inspecting the fares of every rider on every trip, this has been costing MTS approximately $1,000,000 per month in unpaid fares.

MTS depends on recovering that lost revenue to keep service levels high and fares low for everyone.