The D.C. Council voted 11 to 2 on Tuesday to decriminalize fare evasion on Metro, which would officially eliminate the possibility of arrest or jail time and institute a maximum fine of $50 for jumping the turnstiles. The Council still must vote on the bill one more time before it becomes final.

Since 1978, fare evasion in D.C. has been punishable by a fine of up to $300, a ten-day jail sentence, or both. The bill has been in the works since June 2017, when eight councilmembers co-introduced it. It passed through its committee vote earlier this month with unanimous support.

The bill also decriminalizes other minor infractions on Metro, like eating food and drink in the system, playing music through speakers, and riding roller skates. Before the passage of the bill, these actions were characterized as “unlawful” under the D.C. Code—now, they’ll carry a maximum fine of $50.

Decriminalization comes in the midst of a Metro crackdown on fare evasion, which stems partly from the cash-strapped agency’s desire to capture all available revenue. Officials also say strict enforcement helps protect Metro operators, particularly bus drivers: the Metro Transit Police says that 25 percent of assaults on bus operators stem from fights over fare.

But MTPD’s enforcement measures have drawn criticism this year for being overly harsh. In February, police slammed a woman to the ground and chipped her teeth after she tried to ride a bus with her small children without paying a fare. Over the summer, another woman was threatened with a taser and pinned down on the ground at Fort Totten, her top pulled down and exposing her breasts to passersby. In September, a group of young teenagers were reportedly pepper sprayed for trying to jump the turnstile (though Metro holds that incident did not actually involve fare evasion, but apprehending a juvenile wanted for multiple robberies on the system).

The Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs released a report in September showing that the overwhelming majority of fare evasions citations in D.C. are issued to black people. Over a two year period, seventy-two percent of the citations were handed out to black men, 20 percent to black women, and 46 percent to black young people under 25. Metro police have cited children as young as seven, according to the report.

“The collateral consequences are numerous and devastating and they are vastly disproportionate to not paying the $2 fare,” said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who chairs the committee on the judiciary and public safety. 

MTPD, for its part, maintains that the bill is not necessary. According to testimony from MTPD Chief Ron Pavlik in October of last year, more than 90 percent of stops for fare evasion lead only to citations (usually of about $50). Juveniles generally get off with a warning, Pavlik said. The agency holds that people only get arrested after evading their fare if they refuse police commands or try to run away.

Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who also serves as the chair of Metro’s board of directors, argued against the bill, saying it would deprive Metro of much-needed revenue (he estimated that fare evasion costs the system $25 million to $50 million a year). He was joined by D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who said he was speaking against the bill “with some hesitation.”

This story has been updated to reflect that the Council must vote one more time before the bill becomes final and to include Metro’s account of why its officers pepper sprayed teenagers.