What to know
- “We’re learning. And I’m learning with our customers,” said Quemuel Arroyo, MTA accessibility director and senior advisor to the MTA president.
- Arroyo is the quarterback of the new $700 million pilot program, with high-tech gateways at Sutphin Blvd-JFK in Queens, Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Penn Station in Manhattan and Astoria Boulevard in Queens.
- This pilot came months after a special panel found that the MTA lost $500 million to fare evaders in 2021 and $690 million in 2022. A 38% increase.
NEW YORK — The idea behind the new fare gates was to give subway riders easier access to the stations.
But it is not so easy.
“We’re learning. And I’m learning with our customers,” said Quemuel Arroyo, MTA accessibility director and senior advisor to the MTA president.
He acknowledged that an unintended drawback of the new high-tech sensor gates, now in use at four MTA transit centers, is that many riders have figured out how to avoid paying. By crowding into the space behind the person in front of you, also known as “piggybacking” (in piggyback), several people could pass with the same fare. Our sister network NBC New York saw many of those practices during the day at Sutphin Boulevard/Jamaica Station.
“That same observation that you allude to,” Arroyo said, “we will be preventing all those bad actions that we saw!”
Arroyo is the quarterback of the new $700 million pilot program, with high-tech gateways at Sutphin Blvd-JFK in Queens, Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Penn Station in Manhattan and Astoria Boulevard in Queens. Why those stations? All are connections to major transit centers. And, since many passengers bring large suitcases with them, the new entrance doors are wider, making it easier for people with luggage to pass through. And despite the abuse, the MTA says the gates have worked well so far.
“We have increased the number of paying passengers at this station by 20%,” Arroyo said, speaking of the Sutphin gates, frequented by passengers arriving at JFK Airport. In the past, many people with luggage would stand by the emergency door, wait for it to open, and then get in for free when it did. Now, many more are paying.
As for the problem of piggyback transportation?
“I wanted to see how customers would use those doors. Good and bad,” Arroyo said.
This pilot came months after a special panel found that the MTA lost $500 million to fare evaders in 2021 and $690 million in 2022. A 38% increase.
The main conclusion of the panel? “The tax losses caused by fare and toll evasion are staggering.”
Arroyo said to really make a dent in the rate reduction, they need passage gates that are not yet available on the market. After all, the MTA has 473 subway stations. And they have committed $25 billion to remake the way the public accesses the system. There is currently an RFI (a request for information) on best practices to resolve the issue.
“We will design the New York gate that combats fare evasion,” Arroyo said.
2024-01-04 05:11:10
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