MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said Friday that bus fare evasion enforcement teams remain an "important component" a day after suspending the squads pending probes into recent violent altercations between agents and riders .

Lieber, speaking at an unrelated Queens press event on Friday, said his safety stand-down order for the enforcement agents — dubbed Evasion and Graffiti Lawlessness Eradication (EAGLE) Teams — on Thursday should not be seen as the agency throwing in the towel in its fight against fare-beating.

"We're not giving up on the battle against fare evasion because New Yorkers want buses to be there," Lieber said. "I don't want to be put in the position where we don't have the money to fund running the caliber of bus service and the frequency of bus service that New York needs. So, we're gonna continue working with communities, with elected officials, and with our ridership to make sure that fare evasion, which is now in excess of 40%, is brought down on buses."

The transit boss was referring to the MTA's finding that nearly half of bus riders do not pay the $3 fare.

In 2024, the MTA reported losing $300 million in annual revenue to bus fare evasion. A 2025 report from the Citizens Budget Commission found the loss to be even higher — $568 million in 2024.

Lieber announced the stand-down a week after MTA leadership r emoved four EAGLE team members from active service after they were caught on surveillance video in what appeared to be a violent struggle with a rider.

The straphanger, Brooklyn public school aide Kyle Taylor, said that while he was riding the B14 bus to work on the morning of Oct. 6, the fare agents assaulted him even though he paid his fare via a paper transfer. The agents can be seen pinning Taylor to a bus shelter in the video, and his attorney, Benjamin Pinczewsk, said they punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground — causing injuries to his head, neck, back, and left shoulder.

During the Thursday news conference in Queens where Lieber announced the EAGLE Team stand-down, he also revealed that there was "another episode" of fare enforcers getting into a physical confrontation with a rider. He did not reveal many details about the incident, except that it was "several months old."

The incidents, Lieber said, raised concerns both over how EAGLE Teams are interacting with members of the public and how altercations are being reported.

"I'm concerned about this pattern," Lieber said on Thursday. "I'm not willing to keep our teams active in the field until I know that all protocols are being followed with respect to both customer interactions and how they're being followed. But also with respect to the reporting and investigation of incidents."

The chair said that he also asked MTA Security Chief Michael Kemper to review how EAGLE Teams operate. Thus far, the teams have been overseen by NYC Transit Safety and Security.

"Our EAGLE Teams won't be re-entering the field until I am confident that their training and their reporting and investigation protocols meet our high standards," he said. "We're gonna take a break, we'll take another look, and we'll be back when we've completed that."

The teams are key to Lieber's long-held vision of rolling out what he has termed "European style" fare enforcement on buses, as it is similar to how many cities across the pond ensure riders have paid for transit. The model involves civilian agents using handheld devices to verify payments via the MTA's OMNY tap-and-ride system — issuing fines to those found to have skipped the fare.

The MTA has been piloting the model on buses this year , following the full switch to OMNY at the beginning of the year, and as it is set to phase out coin payments on buses.

Although Lieber said the MTA is committed to continuing to use the EAGLE teams, one transit advocate cast doubt on whether the squads will still play a role in fare enforcement.