Exclusion for Evasion: Racial Disproportionality in Fare Enforcement and Policing on the New York City Subways

This study investigates racial disproportionality in fare evasion enforcement on the New York City subway system by analyzing NYPD data on arrests and summonses from 2018 to 2024. Through a critical lens, it examines the role of policing in reinforcing narratives that frame the subway as a space of disorder and fare evasion as a dangerous transgressive act, which relies on broken windows policing. Popular discourse and MTA rhetoric position fare evasion not only as a financial offense but as a behavior linked to broader criminality and acts of violence, justifying surveillance and punitive measures. This study interrogates how these practices of policing reproduce racial inequities, acting as a tool of violence and exclusion. The research explores trends in fare evasion arrests and summonses alongside policy changes, such as the 2024 deployment of the National Guard, enhanced police presence, and the use of private security at key stations. By situating fare evasion within the larger framework of urban governance and transit policing, the study aims to illuminate the ways in which criminalizing low-level infractions disproportionately affects marginalized communities and perpetuates social control. Ultimately, this research contributes to conversations about public safety, equity, and the right to mobility in urban spaces.