Starting Monday, Sept. 8, Boston commuters subway stations will be more crowded and a lot more vigilant. The MBTA’s newest staff have arrived decked in blue shirts, and their job entails surveilling from the subway stations and aboard the trains themselves. 

These enforcers, known as “fare engagement representatives,” are integral to the MBTA’s new plan for minimizing fare evasion and its mission of “ delivering the levels of service you expect and help us better support your community,” according to MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng.

Now, when a commuter tries to avoid the fare, they will receive a warning from a fare engagement representative. Upon warning, the representative will request to see the rider’s identification and record their name and contact information. The first, second, and third citation for failing to pay a fare after the warning will result in a $50 fine, and the fourth and subsequent citations will result in a $100 fine. Uncooperative riders may be asked to leave the station. The policy further notes that citations can be paid online, over the phone, or by mail, but riders can file an appeal or request a hearing within 60 days of the date of the citation to challenge it.

Many Emerson students thought that fare enforcement is important, especially in the city of Boston.

“You have to pay for things; it’s just part of life,” said Chelsea Plunkett, a senior journalism major. She recalls seeing a fare enforcement representative a couple of days earlier at one of the stations, describing him as “just a dude in a neon jacket.”

“I’ve seen people kind of get caught for it or whatever, but they’re just doing their job,” she said. 

These fare engagement representatives were first hired and trained at select stations in October 2024. Within several weeks, fare collection at those locations increased by up to 35%, according to the MBTA.

According to a 2021 Boston.com report, 1% of all passengers on MBTA buses and subways avoid the fare. The rate of fare evasion increases to between 5 and 10% on the Green Line trolley, the T line alongside Emerson, BU, and Northeastern campuses, the most used line for riders aged 18 to 25, according to Rider Census Report 2024. This results in between $5 and 6 million in lost revenue on subway and train fares annually. 

MBTA costs are “rising at an unsustainable rate,” according to a study conducted by the Pioneer Institute, a trend attributed to overspending by the organization. “Both the data and experience suggest that expenses can be trimmed without harming safety or operations,” the report said. This past June, Governor Maura Healey signed a $1.3 billion supplemental budget to make major investments in transportation and education. Of the $1.3 billion, $548 million went towards “stabiliz[ing] the finances of the MBTA” 

Other Emerson students agreed that fare enforcement is a good way to improve the experience of riding the T for everyone.

“You have to contribute to it if you’re gonna use it,” said Coco Meyerhofer, a junior writing, literature, and publishing major. “So I think it’s fair.” 

Meyerhofer said it may be a shock for Emerson students who are used to getting away with evading the fare. She said that she believes some will change their habits out of frustration.

“[They’ll] either go about [new] ways to not pay or will maybe start walking more,” Meyerhofer said.

Austin Katrell, an economics and journalism major at BU, is among those planning on changing their commute entirely because of the new policy. Katrell said he is switching from the Green Line to bus service. 

“The 57 line … goes all the way down to Kenmore. It’s faster and you pay less,” Katrell said. 

Other commuters, like Lesley Garcia, a business major at Boston University, say that there are bigger problems aboard the T that should be focused on instead, such as the system’s slow service and infrastructure issues.

“I think that they need to focus on the efficiency of the T rather than reinforcing people paying for it,”  she said. “Why are people going to be paying all this money for something that doesn’t even work?” 

Garcia added that for some areas, she was not even aware that payment was required, such as the above-ground T stops.

“Nobody tells you, the drivers of the T don’t tell you, and you see everyone skip paying it, so you assume the school pays to use it,” Garcia said.

Many BU students agreed that they did not pay for the T on campus, but said they would be willing to pay if it meant improved service. 

“I feel like everyone complains about the Green Line to begin with, like how inconsistent it is, and how slow it is, how it just makes random stops,” said Caroline Spangler-Sakata, a biomedical engineering major at BU. “If they’re going to expect us to pay, we would expect [service] to be better.”

Lyanna Zammas, a senior writing, literature, and publishing major at Emerson, said that she’s concerned about the fines’ impact on college students. She said that as a demographic who usually have low to no income, the fine could have a bigger effect.

“If they aren’t [paying their fare] and they get caught, it’s a pretty hefty fine, which I think is ridiculous,” Zammas said.“It would be nice if Emerson helped us out with some student discounts, like heavily discounted MBTA passes, because the ones that are currently discounted are still hundreds of dollars.” 

The MBTA’s current reduced fare passes for college students are 11% off regular pricing through the Student Semester Pass program, where universities, including Emerson, can purchase pre-paid and discounted passes for their students to use. 

Several Emerson students echoed this sentiment. Many questioned whether the new policy is truly equal for all. 

“We are always talking about accessibility, and how those who can’t afford are gonna get around… but we have to pay in order for [public transportation] to become better,” Semaj Byrd, a senior musical theater major, said.

“This policy may make things more equal, but the question of fairness and equity is less straightforward,” Jeff Sousa, a junior media arts production major, said. “The MBTA could eliminate the need for such debates on equity by simply making train rides free.” 

The MBTA has made strides in providing free service over the past few years, as recent as its Fall 2025 service changes, where all modes were free after 9 p.m.for five Fridays and Saturdays. In 2022, it renewed and expanded a fare-free pilot program that began in 2021, which now includes three bus routes that will remain free until February 2026. The chosen routes serve lower-income areas and have the highest ridership bus corridors serving Mattapan, Roxbury, and Dorchester, where public transportation is relied on for daily travel, according to a city report.

Additionally, the Blind Access CharlieCard provides free service to legally blind individuals, and from Sept. 5 through Oct. 4, fares are free after 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays on all subway lines, bus routes, ferries, Commuter Rail lines, and the RIDE trips to promote the use of extended late-night service hours.

Sousa said he also worries that fare enforcement laws won’t deter evasion, but instead only increase “unnecessary confrontation between citizens and MBTA workers/law enforcement.”

A Boston25 report surveying the first week of the initiative found that unless these enforcers are present in stations, riders will still pass through without paying their fare. After one week, 49 warnings were issued, according to the transit service.

The prevailing thought towards this policy is that it “does impact students and low-income individuals,” says Lindsay, a BU staff member, who didn’t give a last name. “I understand there is some fair evasion, but I think there needs to be more of a discussion on improving the T first rather than putting resources into that.”