Technology @lemmy.world spez @sh.itjust.works 12mo ago

The NYC subway is using AI to detect fare dodgers

www.theverge.com The NYC subway is using AI to detect fare dodgers

The MTA claims the software doesn’t flag fare evaders to the police.

74 comments

Mass transit should be free.
- Fare evasion is like stealing bread. It's a crime of desperation.
  
  This kind of budgetary indulgence only indicates the MTA doesn't much like the public of the city it serves.
  
  Nah definitely not. If you're that desperate where are you even going on the subway? I've literally seen homeless people pay the fare. The only time I'd consider it justifiable is if you're in a rush, the train is right their, and your payment isn't working. Otherwise like what, where you gonna go and what you gonna do if you can't even afford $2.75?
- If it was free, conservatives would put more effort into killing it off like they did in the 60s and 70s when they killed off trains and subways in a bunch of cities, killed off the trolley systems in several cities, etc. Otherwise their donors would lose too much money on people switching from driving. But yeah, it's almost entirely funded by taxes anyway. Would be logical to make it 100% funded, but keeping a small fare keeps it a smaller target of conservatives.
  
  Yes bad actors are always a problem. So I guess we should never do anything substantial to reform the system because rightwing shitheads will try to sabotage it.
- Maybe they should start electing people to charge property taxes correctly to those ultra luxury condos.
- Local mass transit should be free. It is already really heavily subsidized, often almost entirely subsidized, so it wouldn’t cost as much as you think.
- America won't achieve that with such low tax rates
  
  Mass transit barely exists in most of America.
  
  Yes. Interestingly US taxes aren't even low if you factor in what you have to pay for directly, compared to what other countries pay though taxes.
  
  Lol have you seen the taxes in the US
- Mass transit cannot be free.
  
  It should however be without toll. It can quite reasonably be funded with tax.
  
  But free? No. Someone somewhere has to pay for the infrastructure and operations.
  
  Free to use, funded by taxes. Like how healthcare should work.
  
  This seems like needless nitpicking. The end result is the same, it's still free at the point of use.
  
  Free as in free to use. Just like roads.
  
  I'm curious how much of the budget is covered by fares. I think here in Europe it tends to be roughly 50%. But the trains are much better than NYC and the fares are cheaper.
  
  Capitalism makes it not free just like it holds people's lives hostages to pay a fee to live
- this
- It's a service that costs money to maintain
  
  Damn, if only we paid taxes that could be used for maintenance.
  
  Yes it is. Luckily we have a system of taxation. By ‘free’ I mean of course ‘at the point of use’. We could provide 100% subsidies for mass transportation for probably around 100 years before we would approach equity with the subsidies we have given to fossil fuels and private transportation.
  
  roads and car infrastructure costs money to maintain, but anyone wealthy enough to buy a car can use it for free
The title should be "NYC wastes money on software that doesn't work rather than reducing fares or eliminating them entirely".
- Lmfao, I'm pretty sure the idea is that it will return them more money than it costs. You just want free subway rides or something? It's fucking $2.75 to go ANYWHERE.
what a great use of resources 😒
I haven't paid for the NYC subway or bus for probably 15 years... XD
- I hope that's cause you moved out of NYC 15 uears ago. Otherwise fuck you, this is why we can't have nice things. Why do some people only accept paying for things if we force it out of their paycheck instead of just when they use it?
  
  😂😂😂😂😂
  
  2.75x4 per day, 5 days a week, 15 years, I've saved over $40,000 XD thanks nyc

74 comments