In October 2026, an EAGLE team assaulted Kyle Taylor, a Brooklyn school dean, as he got off a bus in Brownsville. Taylor was not a fare evader; rather he had used a legacy fare option that predates the proof-of-payment system the EAGLE team based its enforcement decisions on. Taylor’s assault not only sparked a $25 million lawsuit but also surfaced numerous other instances of abusive and predatory tactics by EAGLE teams, including walking off buses with riders' OMNY passes, issuing summonses based on quota, and requiring riders to settle their summonses in-person. This forced the MTA to suspend fare enforcement pending an investigation.

But this suspension won't last long. The MTA is planning on reinstating the EAGLE teams next week without adding proper interventions, such as body cameras and enhanced de-escalation training, which are necessary to prevent such an atrocity from happening again. In fact, the MTA has not allocated funding to give each officer a body camera, and the state legislature has not authorized those funds either.

It's past time to transform, rebrand, and reform the EAGLE teams into a community asset.

Instead of functioning solely as an aggressive enforcement mechanism, these teams should act as ambassadors for riders. Rather than defaulting to issuing summonses, they would guide riders on how to pay their fare, navigate transfers, get discounted cards, and enroll in Fair Fares, all on the spot. Community organizations would assist the teams in engaging communities and raising awareness about the city's fare discount programs. This would help create a welcoming environment that puts riders first, empowers them without shame, and naturally avoids conflict.

Ambassador programs are already in place in other transit systems, and they have shown promising results. At LA Metro, riders who encountered ambassadors reported higher satisfaction, and 62% of those who saw them said they felt safer. SEPTA’s outreach teams have also connected vulnerable riders with services and administered 234 Narcan doses in 2023. More transit agencies across the country are adopting ambassador programs, including Charlotte’s CATS, which just launched its own fare ambassador program in October.

To ensure such a welcoming environment, the following steps must be taken:

• The state legislature must fund body cameras and other protective equipment (minus weapons) for the ambassador teams.
• The MTA must rigorously retrain EAGLE team members to act as ambassadors and community resources.
• The MTA must coordinate OMNY mobile sales vans for use by ambassadors in the field.
• The MTA must partner with neighborhood community organizations (not advocacy groups) to engage community members, raise awareness about the ambassadors and the MTA's fare discount programs, and help enroll riders in Fare Fares.
• The ambassadors must be equipped with literature informing riders on how to apply for Fare Fares.
• The MTA must rebrand the EAGLE teams and issue uniforms that read as civilian rather than enforcement.

Additionally, to ensure success:

• The state legislature should create a Fare Fares (or similar) program for statewide public transportation.
• The state legislature should grant additional subsidies for municipal income-based fare discount programs, including Fare Fares.
• Ambassadors should be equipped with OMNY cards to give riders upon request.
• Ambassadors should be able to translate multiple languages, if they are not already multilingual.
• Ambassadors, along with customer service representatives, should be able to swap out defective OMNY cards upon request.
• The MTA should educate riders, including students, on how the agency is financed and the direct role their fares play in keeping the system running.
• The MTA should create an incentive program for riders to use OMNY in addition to fare capping (look to SEPTA Key Partner Programs).
• The MTA should reinstate unlimited fare options in addition to fare capping.
• The MTA should revise its transfer policy to accommodate riders traveling and/or commuting longer distances.

Transforming the EAGLE teams into a community ambassador program would give riders agency, strengthen accountability, and create an environment that puts riders first — all the while addressing the root causes of fare evasion. Unlike suspending fare enforcement in all its forms, reforming it is both more realistic and more likely to produce lasting benefits for riders and the MTA.