RTD conducted nearly 5 million fare checks on rail in 2025
Fare enforcement will continue to grow in 2026, ensuring paid customers use RTD services, promoting customer engagement with officers, and increasing fare revenue
DENVER (Jan. 22, 2026) –– The Regional Transportation District (RTD)'s Transit Police (RTD-PD) and contracted security officers conducted almost 5 million fare checks on the agency’s rail system during 2025. RTD Chief of Police and Emergency Management Steve Martingano said increased fare checks benefit the transit community through greater officer visibility and allowing for direct customer engagement.
Light rail by the numbers
Officers scanned 252,677 mobile passes and checked almost 591,000 total transit passes (mobile, paper, or other) for light rail services in 2025. From these customer contacts, the agency found that 7.28% of individuals did not pay fare before boarding.
Commuter rail by the numbers
Similarly, officers scanned 1,849,856 mobile passes and checked over 4.2 million total transit passes (mobile, paper, or other) for commuter rail services last year. Of these fare checks, 4% of individuals boarded without paying fare in advance.
Commuter rail services are patrolled by both contracted Allied security officers and Transit Police officers affording a greater ability to conduct fare checks and bolster security, significantly contributing to fare enforcement across the commuter rail system.
Overall fare enforcement
For rail services systemwide, officers scanned more than 2 million mobile passes and checked more than 4.8 million total transit passes (mobile, paper, or other). Of these, officers were able to recover fare from 208,722 customers and issued more than 14,664 warnings and 712 citations systemwide for those who did not pay fare. Fare checks can occur at any time, including at stations or stops prior to boarding, and failure to present valid fare could result in a large fine, including court costs.
Fare payments became more accessible and convenient in 2025 with the recently launched Tap-n-Ride, where customers can pay fare at any validator with a quick tap of their Visa or Mastercard bank or credit card. Customers who prefer to pay via cash can now load cash value onto a MyRide card or MyRide account for payments at validators.
2026 fare checks to increase
In August 2025, RTD reported that fare checks had increased by over 500% from May 2024. In 2026, with directed RTD-PD officer patrols across the system’s rail services, Martingano anticipates fare checks will further increase this year.
“Fare checks are an essential safeguard to ensure public transportation remains fair, sustainable, and accessible for everyone who relies on it,” Martingano said. “An increased presence of police and security not only supports this effort, it also helps reinforce a safe and welcoming transit environment, consistent with RTD’s commitment to its customers.”
Given the growth of the RTD Transit Police Department, with 105 sworn officers as of January 2026, the department has an increased ability to patrol the system and conduct fare checks. Martingano noted, “We’re having more visibility on our trains, buses, and platforms. When I started with RTD 10 years ago, we had only five police officers in the department.”
Increased officer visibility also has contributed to last year’s year-over-year decreases in security-related calls and reports of illicit drug activity across RTD vehicles and the transit system. Security metrics are updated monthly and are available on the agency’s Security-Related Metrics webpage for a transparent look at systemwide boardings and incidents relative to ridership. The metrics support that most customers travel on RTD services smoothly, without issues.
Fare checks are just one part of the department’s four-step security plan. Implemented in 2024, the comprehensive plan focused on improving officer presence supported by 24/7 patrolling, educating customers to treat one another with respect, using enhanced technology, such as real-time video feeds for safety observations, and ramping up fare enforcement to support customers and RTD employees.
RTD encourages customers to be empowered by downloading the Transit Watch app and partner with RTD in safety. The free app, available in English and Spanish, enables customers to report suspicious or unwanted behavior anonymously or discreetly directly to the Transit Police Communications Dispatch Center with police dispatchers working around the clock.