(The Center Square) — New York City's public transit system lost more than $1 billion last year to riders who don't pay their fares and drivers who avoid paying tolls, according to a new report by a state watchdog.

The Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog group, said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority lost $568 million in unpaid bus fares and $350 million in unpaid subway fares. About $46 million in commuter rail fare revenue was lost to scofflaws, while another $51 million from unpaid bridge and tunnel tolls, according to the group's analysis.

"Reducing evasion is essential to close the MTA’s approximately $800 million structural operating budget gap, to ensure that all users pay their fair share, and to improve public confidence in the transit system," the report's authors said. "Collecting unpaid fares and tolls could help support better service or fund capital projects directly, reducing reliance on long-term debt financing."

The MTA’s $918 million loss to subway and bus fare evasion in 2024 was triple the $305 million lost in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 53 percent higher than the $600 million lost in 2022, according to the report.

The commission noted that the MTA has made progress cracking down on fare evaders, with fare evasion declining "steadily" from the third quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2025 while ridership increased. It also pointed to increased arrests and civil citations for fare evaders.

Fares and tolls account for a significant proportion of the MTA’s annual budget revenue, or roughly $7 billion a year. The agency says every dollar lost to evasion "impairs the MTA’s financial stability, threatens reliable transit for all New Yorkers, and increases the need for alternative revenue sources, including through larger fare and toll hikes."

In a statement, MTA Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel highlighted progress in cracking down on fare scofflaws and said violations are down nearly 30% this year. He said that figure is even higher at stations where the agency has installed new gate guards to prevent turnstile jumping.

"Evasion rates on buses have also fallen in every quarter since the second quarter of 2024 despite rising ridership. We have no plans to let up on this crusade any time soon.”

Overall, Patel said the agency agrees with the report's conclusion that "fare evasion is an existential issue that not only harms the MTA financially but also violates the spirit of mutual respect and fair play that makes New York not just a great city but a great community."

New York City mayor Eric Adams has deployed more NYPD officers to subway stations in recent years to help crackdown on fare evaders, pointing out that the loss of revenue contributes to the city's structural budget deficit.

The commission urged the MTA to speed up the installation of new fare gates and an electronic proof-of-payment system, publish more data on its progress toward reducing evasion and determine whether its efforts are cost-effective.

"Fare and toll evasion drains resources needed to sustainably run the system well for all New Yorkers and other users," the group said. "Ultimately, it unfairly shifts more of the cost burden of the MTA’s $20 billion operating budget to other riders, drivers, and taxpayers."