On Saturday, May 10, 2014 11:06:19 AM UTC-4, Stephen Sprunk wrote:   
      
   > What, you don't think any of the above cities have poor parts of town with   
   frequent vandalism, violent crime, etc.? Hint: they do. So, where there are   
   such security problems, you apply more security. But that has little to do   
   with fare collection per    
   se.    
      
   Actually, it does.  Usually, communities with a better social fabric have less   
   vandalism, security issues, and fare evasion than troubled communities.   
      
   Also, in some communities, the transit carrier is seen as part of the   
   "oppressive dictatorship", and some people actually go around urging others to   
   evade fares and even publicize techniques to do so.  (Some of these elements   
   are leftover hippies from    
   the 1960s, but they'll still out there doing their thing.  Some of them are   
   members of city council or 'consumer advocates', fighting the transit   
   authority every step of the way.  Such is life in the big city, or perhaps   
   more accurately, dying big cities.   
   )   
      
   I can't help but suspect that a homeless person or beggar on DART will not be   
   treated as kindly by the carrier, cops, or courts, as say one in   
   Philadelphia.  I can't help but suspect that the courts in Dallas take a   
   different stance on the rights of "   
   free speech" than they do in the northeast US.  That all plays a difference on   
   the platform of a transit line.   
      
   > Perhaps not consciously, but they [criminals] do make a risk/reward decision   
   on some level, and being poor just means that they assign a different value to   
   each factor than you or I would. So, you tilt the factors to compensate:   
   increase the risk and    
   reduce the award as _they_ see it.    
      
   Actually, no they don't think.  Petty criminals are not very bright, nor think   
   very much.  It's want-take-have.  You would be amazed at the stupid stuff they   
   do.  These folks might be told a fare inspector is coming but they'll still   
   jump on without a    
   ticket.  (Some of these people probably shouldn't be out on their own, but   
   that's a separate issue.)   
      
   For instance, real estate agents in poor neighborhoods have to collect the   
   rent weekly in person in cash--if they wait until the end of the month, the   
   tenants won't have the money.  Sometimes even weekly the agent has to come   
   back a few days later.   
      
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