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The MTA announced on Monday that to curb fare evasions, emergency gates at three separate subway stations will no longer open immediately but instead take 15 seconds to do so.
As even amateur riders know, getting onto the platform by entering through the emergency doors that are opened from the interior portion of the station is a common way to get in without paying. Needless to say: that’s illegal.
In just a couple of weeks, the delayed-opening system will debut the 138th Street-Third Avenue station on the 6 line; at Flushing Avenue on the J, M and Z lines; and at 59th Street on the 4, 5 and 6 lines.
“We know that the exit gates have become a significant source of fare evasion,” said MTA construction chief Jamie Torres-Springer at the MTA's Capital Program Committee meeting yesterday. “Because whether someone is using them appropriately or inappropriately, they can be held open for people to stream through.”
According to Gothamist, these specific stations were selected because offering “enough turnstiles for masses of riders to quickly escape actual emergencies, like a fire or terrorist attack, even if the emergency gates won't open for 15 seconds.”
Although, during an official meeting, an MTA spokesperson revealed that on-site staffers can override the delay in the event of an emergency, he didn’t explain how exactly that would happen.
To get the green light on the pilot program, the MTA had to reach out to the state code authority and obtain a waiver allowing them to test out the new guidelines and make sure they didn't compromise travelers' safety.
According to official data, fare evasion cost the MTA almost $700 million in lost revenue in 2022 alone.