Fare beating is on the rise and the MTA will not take it anymore.

Transit brass unveiled new initiatives, including expanding fare patrol teams on buses and installing surveillance cameras in the subway, to keep passengers from riding for free.

The MTA says it now loses $225 million a year to the fare cheats.

• MTA Says Fare-Beaters Partially to Blame for Impending Fare Hikes

"I think one of the challenges we face is, there are what we call 'chancers' - people who can afford to pay, but just take the chance - 'I'll save $2.75 today, maybe the gate's open, I'll just follow someone through,'" NYC Transit President Andy Byford said.

Fare beating has become especially acute on local bus routes. MTA officials say that by the end of last year, an estimated one in four riders were not paying the fare.

MTA officials did not give a reason for the increase. But one board member suggested a link to the Manhattan District Attorney's decision last year to no longer prosecute most fare evaders.

"It's time that we made law enforcement officials, whether they be judges or district attorneys, do their job or quit," MTA board member Charles Moerdler said.

The MTA said it will install surveillance cameras trained on turnstiles at 50 more stations, up from 173 monitored today.

Monitors showing the surveillance will be obvious to riders in hopes of serving as a deterrence.
The MTA is also testing patrols by its fare enforcement unit - known as the Eagle Team - on three local bus routes into the Bronx and one in Staten Island. Until now, the unit only has been patrolling on Select Bus routes.

The NYPD is assisting in the effort. The department is stationing 30 officers by turnstiles at 15 stations where fare evasion is rampant. Police may begin riding buses, too.

"There's no doubt in my mind that this is going to reduce fare evasion at these locations," NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Edward Delatorre said. "The question is, when we pull the officers off in six weeks, will we see a long lasting change in behavior in these stations by riders who come there every day to use them?"

NYPD and transit officials hope these efforts will change the culture of fare beating and deter people from taking a chance for a free ride.