Policed in Transit: How Riding While Black Becomes a Crime

You missed a fare. They called the cops.
You crossed a state line. They pulled you over.
Riding or driving while Black shouldn’t be a crime.


July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. For many people, a fare check or transit stop is a minor inconvenience. But for Black and Brown riders, it can trigger panic, humiliation, or even arrest. Across America, transit systems are quietly criminalizing poverty—and disproportionately policing the people least able to absorb the cost. This series breaks down how transportation impacts mental health and what real equity means for underserved communities. 

Fare enforcement should be about public service, not punishment. But across the country, transit agencies have adopted aggressive, militarized fare collection practices that disproportionately target Black and Latino riders.

Armed fare patrols, surprise inspections, and surveillance technology have turned buses and trains into hostile zones for many riders. Riders are stopped, questioned, and fined—or worse, arrested—for the inability to pay a fare as low as $2.75.

The rise of facial recognition and automated monitoring in transit stations has only made matters worse. These technologies are most frequently deployed in low-income, high-traffic areas—which often means Black and Latino neighborhoods.

In New York, data from the NYPD showed that fare evasion arrests were over 90% Black and Latino. In Los Angeles, Black people make up 19% of Metro riders but over 50% of fare enforcement citations.

This isn't random. It's systemic.

Being policed in transit takes a mental toll. Riders often live with the trauma of being stopped, searched, or detained for being poor—and for being Black or Brown.

  • PTSD from repeated confrontations with law enforcement

  • Anxiety and hypervigilance in everyday public spaces

  • Shame and social withdrawal from being treated like a criminal

These emotional stressors compound when you're just trying to get to work, pick up groceries, or drop your child off at school. For many, even entering a train station becomes a psychological minefield.

Truckers Face Policing Too
Truckers—especially Black drivers—aren't exempt from transit-related policing. Long-haul and last-mile drivers frequently pass through urban centers and freight corridors loaded with surveillance, ALPRs (automated license plate readers), and heavily policed zones.

Black truckers report being pulled over more often, searched without cause, and subjected to longer inspections. These aren't isolated incidents—they're part of a pattern where racial profiling meets mobility enforcement.

  • DOT stops used to fish for unrelated offenses

  • Checkpoint harassment under the guise of "random inspections"

  • More aggressive treatment during traffic violations

The stress of these encounters wears on drivers. Constant hyper-awareness, fear of escalation, and lack of recourse lead to exhaustion, sleep issues, and chronic stress. Black drivers face unique burdens white drivers often do not: higher suspicion, less protection, and fewer advocates.

  • NYPD fare enforcement: 94% Black and Latino fare evasion arrests (2019)

  • LA Metro: Black riders 9x more likely to be cited for fare evasion

  • FMCSA data shows Black drivers report higher rates of roadside inspections and complaints of racial discrimination in citations

We need to decriminalize poverty and stop treating movement like a privilege. Transit and trucking systems should empower—not punish.

  • End criminal penalties for fare evasion

  • Fund fare-free public transit

  • Invest in community-based transit safety models

  • Implement racial bias monitoring in truck inspections

  • Train and hold accountable state patrols and DOT enforcers

Policing has no place in fare enforcement or routine trucking operations. Equity in transit means freedom of movement without fear.

Being poor or Black should not make you a target. Whether you're a rider heading to work or a trucker crossing state lines, the right to move safely and without fear is fundamental. Until policing is removed from everyday mobility, true transportation equity will remain out of reach.

Further Resources