When the MBTA asked customers last year to weigh in on proposed fare increases and service cuts, one complaint came through over and over: If the T was asking riders to pay more for less, it should do something about freeloaders.

Piggybacking through subway station fare gates, slipping onto the back of Green Line trolleys without paying, even riding for free on the commuter rail through luck, charm, or overcrowding — the T tried to crack down on all of it in 2012.