Does Public Shaming of Fare Evaders Work?

Photo by spongemonkey

Well, this is new. If the fare cops won’t catch you, maybe public shaming will. One Muni station agent thought she’d try to appeal to a fare evader’s pride. From Muni rider Ramona S:

I’m at Powell station and hear this from the PA system: “Officer Jones, we have a fare evader on the platform, west side, a black male in black jeans and black t-shirt with white writing, carrying a red sweatshirt, approximately 6’1″…” On and on. The station agent kept announcing the alleged fare evader’s movement throughout the station and kept repeating descriptions of him and his location. I think “Officer Jones” is imaginary, as we didn’t see any police officers at the station. But still. Will the ancient tactic of public embarrassment work for fare evaders?

We sure do love a station agent with a healthy sense of humor.