NYC Subway Fare Evasion Quarterly Estimates Since 2018

Quarterly estimated fare evasion rates for the New York City subway system, beginning in 2018. The data is produced by the State of New York using surveys from traffic checkers and stratified sampling, and includes a margin of error for each estimate.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in the Fare Evasion Rate over time to assess policy effectiveness.
• Model the relationship between Fare Evasion Rate and other ridership or economic indicators.
• Compare quarterly Fare Evasion Rate estimates across different years to identify seasonal patterns.

Strengths

• Quarterly time series provides consistent temporal granularity for trend analysis.
• Data includes a margin of error for each Fare Evasion Rate estimate, indicating statistical rigor.
• Covers a multi-year period beginning in 2018, allowing for longitudinal study.

Limitations

• The Fare Evasion Rate is an estimate from surveys, not a direct count, introducing potential sampling error.
• Lack of column-level detail prevents analysis of evasion by specific station, line, or demographic factors.
• Data staleness is a risk as the last update date (2026-01-24) suggests potential future data gaps.

Provenance

Source

State of New York

Collection Method

Surveys conducted by traffic checkers, with rates estimated using stratified sampling.

Time Range

Beginning 2018, quarterly.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-01-24; update frequency is quarterly.

Geography

New York City Transit (NYCT) subway system.