It's not really the fare evasion itself that is the problem (though it does allow people to use transit as a homeless shelter).
Fare evasion is a symptom; the real issue is it being politically unviable to have a police force actively riding buses and light rail.
On a different note, I rode Sound Transit buses to Redmond every day pre-pandemic and it was a pretty good experience. The seats were really nice and some even reclined! I think it is a bit slower than driving but I would rather sit on a bus for an extra 10 minutes reading a book than be driving in soul crushing traffic.