Fare evasion fight puts more officers in NYC subways, buses

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NEW YORK (AP) - Officials say they're assigning an extra 500 police officers to New York City's transit system amid a jump in fare evasion and assaults on workers.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that officers will be deployed to high-ridership subway stations and bus routes, and locations with increased levels of staff assaults.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says assaults reported by employees increased by 15.2% from 2013 to 2017. The agency says lost revenue from fare evasion jumped from $105 million in 2015 to $225 million in 2018.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., who stopped prosecuting most subway fare evasion cases last year, says his office will contribute $40 million to the policing effort.

Under a revised policy, the NYPD now issues summonses to most fare evasion suspects instead of arresting them.