Could NYC subway turnstiles become a thing of the past? MTA shares a look at the future.
The MTA is looking into replacing New York City's subway turnstiles with gates that would physically open and close to let paying passengers through.
The agency revealed renderings from four different companies during Monday's committee meetings, as part of the state's ongoing push to crack down on fare evasion.
The MTA says the four companies will test out the new gates at five stations later this fall. Eventually, they will be installed at 150 stations over the next five years.
"These gates all have a set of baseline characteristics. They have both wide aisle gates to replace the emergency gates and standard gates that replace the turnstiles. They generally use paddles that open and close and are very difficult to force open and hold open or climb over," MTA President of Construction & Development Jamie Torres-Springer said during Monday's meetings.
He also said the gates are easier to navigate with luggage, strollers and mobility devices.
"These gates are the cutting edge and are aimed at both ensuring fare compliance and making the system more accessible and easier to use," said Torres-Springer.
Ongoing effort to crack down on fare evasion
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the fare evasion crackdown during her State of the State address earlier this year. Her new budget deal allocates nearly $69 billion for the MTA's capital plan, including $1.1 billion for the new gates.
It's just the latest idea to stop turnstile jumping.
Earlier this year, the MTA installed spikes on turnstiles at the Brooklyn Bridge City Hall Station, but people could still be seen jumping over them or crawling underneath. Other stations later got turnstile shields, as well as security guards manning the emergency gates.
The MTA says these efforts led to a 30% drop in fare evasion over the last few months.
Officials also said Monday that subway crime dropped 2.2% in March compared to the same time last year.
The agency now wants to deploy artificial intelligence to analyze security cameras in real-time and alert police of problems on platforms. Officials, however, stress the technology does not involve any facial recognition.
