The presence of unarmed agents in blue uniforms, riding light rail trains in groups of two or three, might be the most visible element of Metro Transit’s sweeping reforms to address safety concerns on its system. 

A core job of those TRIP agents, named after the Transit Rider Investment Program, is to check fares and issue administrative citations to those who do not pay their $2 fare. 

But a 5 INVESTIGATES review of every citation issued in the first eight months of the program raises questions about the effectiveness in the program.

Legislation decriminalized fare evasion in 2023 and the penalty for riding without a valid fare became more like a parking ticket. 

Metro Transit recently announced its agents checked more than half a million fares in 2024 and wrote more than 2,000 citations, but many fare evaders continue to avoid accountability, according to an analysis by 5 INVESTIGATES.

Refusals

On a Thursday afternoon in April last year, an agent noted that a rider on the Blue Line “broke multiple rules, such as holding the door and smoking.”

But when the agent wrote that person a fare citation, they refused to give their name or provide any identification.

It is not an isolated incident. 5 INVESTIGATES’ review of more than 1,200 citations reveals that fare evaders refused to cooperate with agents more than half of the time. 

On more than 600 citations, agents and community service officers wrote the word “refuse” – meaning riders refused to provide ID, give a name and sometimes refused to get off of the train. 

“Refused and gave me the #1 wave,” an agent wrote on a citation in January 2024.

Lesley Kandaras, Metro Transit General Manager, acknowledged the amount of refusals is a “challenge” for the agency. 

“In general, we want to get to a place where people are paying their fares and in our first year of this program, we’re learning a lot,” Kandaras said. “That’s definitely an area we need to keep focused on to understand how it might be impeding our ability to make progress here.”

Missing accountability

Unarmed TRIP agents carry radios and are able to call Metro Transit police officers for assistance, but it is unclear from the data how often that is happening. 

When 5 INVESTIGATES created a database of the fare citations, it identified several people who also had criminal convictions for trespassing on light rail.

Records show Devin Un was cited twice in one day for not paying his fare and a third time in February of last year. 

Metro Transit’s rules include increasing penalties for fare evaders caught more than once. Riders with third and fourth violations are supposed to be prohibited from using transit for 60 and 120 days, respectively. 

Un’s most recent citation made no reference to a repeat offense. 

Another rider with a conviction for trespassing, Curtis Woods, received fare citations twice in one month last year, but his latest ticket is marked as a “1st offense.”

Metro Transit could not say how often that is happening or how many riders have received temporary bans for fare evasion.

“I think there’s definitely more we need to keep doing and growing as we mature this program to ensure the accountability is there,” Kandaras said. “I will say being out and having more fare inspection out there is sending the signal that you’re expected to pay your fare when you’re riding.”

Riders react

Despite the questions about accountability, the increased presence of uniformed agents on trains is welcomed by Lisa Logan, 65, a regular transit rider in St. Paul.

“It is better with the TRIP agents, but it’s still dicey,” Logan said. “I take the light rail every day and I have seen just absolutely horrible things.”

Metro Transit says reported crime was down six percent in 2024, compared to 2023, even as some riders have raised concerns about the reliability of those statistics. 

Just how much fare evasion contributes to those safety concerns is up for debate, but the lack of cooperation from those who are caught is just one more source of frustration for those who play by the rules.

“That does not surprise me,” Logan said. “They don’t care.”