The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has come up with a bonkers new way to try to curb fare evasion.

The effort comes as the MTA grapples with horrific yearly losses in revenue because of people dodging the fare on buses and subways.

Without strict enforcement, those losses are going to continue to pile up.

So once MetroCards are fully phased out of the system, the MTA plans to send so-called “fare agents” onto buses to see if passengers have paid their fare.

“Once tap-and-ride is fully implemented, we’re going to move to European-style fare payment enforcement, where you’ll have fare agents, not cops, who can go up to people and say, ‘Can you show me your phone or your OMNY card and I can validate that you paid?’” MTA chief Janno Lieber said,

© The Staten Island Advance