The Metro Transit Police Department intensified efforts to counter fare evasion Monday, according to a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority release.

MTPD officers can enforce $50 fines for fare evaders entering and exiting Metro stations and arrest and raise fines to $100 for those who refuse to pay initial fines after the D.C. Council passed the Secure DC Omnibus crime prevention bill earlier this month. Officers issued 37 citations and arrested five individuals for evading fares on the first day of enforcement Monday.

MTPD officers could only ask fare evaders to pay their fare or leave the station prior to the Secure DC Omnibus bill, but had no ability to enforce the law. The Secure DC bill also included enhanced penalties for those who commit violent crimes against transit employees and passengers.

WMATA officials reported a daily average of more than 40,000 unpaid Metro station entries across the system in 2023. The Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station, the busiest station in the system, saw a daily average of 690 unpaid entries last year, which ranked No. 23 in unpaid entries among the 98 Metro stations.

WMATA officials began to install new faregates with taller barriers at some Metro stations to reduce fare evasion in July. The faregates reduced fare evasion by 70 percent, according to an August WMATA analysis.

The GW U-Pass program has provided unlimited use of Metro bus and rail services for students for a subsidized fee of $100 per semester since January 2022. The U-Pass program is mandatory for undergraduate students enrolled in on-campus classes.