MTA spends $1M per month on private security guards in subway

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is shelling out $1 million per month on private security guards who are posted at subway station turnstiles to deter fare evasion, an agency honcho said Monday.

Richard Davey, president of the MTA’s subway and bus systems, divulged the price tag while testifying at a hearing held by the City Council’s Transportation and Public Safety Committees. He defended the outsourcing, saying the authority has seen an uptick in fare revenue thanks to the security guard initiative.

“It’s a wise investment,” Davey said.

But some Council members questioned the wisdom of pouring that much taxpayer cash into the coffers of private security guard companies.

“This is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” Brooklyn Councilwoman Darlene Mealy told Davey.

Mealy, a Democratic member of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, argued the money would be better spent on boosting the MTA’s workforce, whose members could perform the same job as the guards.

“Just hire more transit workers,” she said.

The private security guards, who are in uniform and started fanning out throughout the subway system this fall, do not have authority to arrest or fine fare-beaters. If they spot someone jumping a turnstile, the guards are supposed to alert NYPD officers so that they can conduct an arrest or issue a summons.

There are about 200 private security guards in the subway system as part of the fare evasion crackdown effort, according to MTA officials who testified alongside Davey at Monday’s hearing.

At a recent MTA board meeting, officials said the presence of security guards has resulted in a $100,000 monthly revenue uptick.

The MTA has projected it could lose as much as $500 million in revenue due to fare evasion this year alone. At the same time, the authority is staring down a budget deficit that could grow as large as $3 billion by 2025.

Davey said the private security program is justified, as the authority needs to allocate as much budget savings as possible.

“We’re going to keep them for a while until we see some of the fare evasion stabilize,” he said of the guards.

NYPD officials at the Council hearing echoed Davey’s concerns.

“We just want people to pay,” acting NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper said, adding that he believes a “sense of lawlessness” would take over the subway system if fare evasion goes unchecked.

Just 3% of subway riders caught hopping turnstiles are arrested, almost exclusively for outstanding warrants on other crimes, according to Kemper. The remaining 97% are let go with tickets.

“This is not about arresting people,” he said. “This is about correcting a problem that’s quite evident.”