Students trying to catch a free ride on the corner of Holloway and 19th Avenue Muni, should beware. An additional 60 ticket checkers were recently added throughout the city to crack down on fare evaders.

Since December, the Municipal Transportation Agency has hired more people to check for proof of payment throughout the city and plan to hire more in the coming months, according to a Muni inspection official, who declined to give her name.

West Portal Station supervisor Dennis Wang said the Muni Agency, or MTA, which runs Muni, and the Department of Parking and Traffic, are strictly enforcing the proof-of-payment system on trains by hiring more officers to fine fare evaders since the city is losing revenue because of this situation.

The MTA public relations department would not respond to frequent calls and visits.

Since last month, the MTA has been dealing with a $15.1 million budget deficit that must be filled before the new budget cycle begins July 1, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. The MTA has already increased parking garage and meter fees to cover the deficit, in conjunction with the increased effort to catch fare evaders.

Wang said that a first offense for not purchasing a $1.50 ticket is $100 fine with a possible court date and there are increases with each future offense. Fines also increase if a ticket or court date is ignored. More tickets handed out will help fill the deficit before the next budget cycle.

“It’s the honor system,” Wang said. “You’re subject to show your proof of payment on trains and while exiting the station.”

Wang said he has seen perfect replicas of Fastpasses –– $45 monthly passes good for unlimited Muni rides –– printed on laser printers. However, fake passes lack the magnetic strips that are read by turnstile scanners, so they now require everyone to run their passes through, no exceptions. He also said that anyone who tries to pass through the handicap door will be stopped.

But that system only works at Muni stations, not for outdoor platforms like the one at 19th Avenue and Holloway in front of SF State, where many students catch the train.

Niki Casaje, 19, a sophomore psychology major, admitted that she doesn’t always pay for her rides.

“I only pay the fare if I know I’m going long distances,” Casaje said as she waited for her train after classes. “If I get on and see a Muni ticketer I get off.”

Casaje said she has seen people getting ticketed on numerous occasions, and has a friend who got a ticket for using a youth pass. Even though she doesn’t like the idea of paying fines, she said it’s understandable.

“They raise fares and now they’re raising penalties,” she said. “It sucks but I guess it has to be done.”

SF State faculty member Paavo Allen, 33, a sign language interpreter for Disability Support Programs and Services, remembered the one time he was ticketed for not buying a new Fastpass on time.

“I didn’t expect to get a ticket,” Allen recalled as he waited for a train at SF State. “They were polite to me … I’ve seen them be pretty horrible to people.”

Allen added that the experience left a big impression on him and he now always carries proof of payment.

“I’ve definitely been a lot more careful since,” he said.

Allen isn’t the only one who has been scared by fare inspectors.

International student Keiko Goto, 25, a child development major, said she saw someone get ticketed at the Church Street Station. She was jarred by how the security officers treated the person who didn’t have proof of payment.

“Even though I had [Fastpass] it was scary,” she said. “It would never happen in Japan.”

Wang said students who use the Muni system frequently should make it part of their budget.

“Buy a Fastpass. Simple as that,” he said. “One hundred dollars is two months of rides with a Fastpass.”