By Gus Saltonstall
An Upper West Side train station will soon get new subway gates aimed at reducing fare evasion.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the expansion of a subway gate pilot program that recently produced a fare evasion decline by an average of 35 percent at the 20 stations where the new gates were installed.
The MTA is expanding the pilot program to 20 more stations, including the West 72nd Street and Broadway 1, 2, and 3 station. Work is expected to begin on installing the gates this month, and the gates are expected to be fully installed at the Upper West Side station by the end of 2026.
The new gates remove the turnstile element of entering a train station. After you tap your OMNY Card or payment method, the gates swing open, and you walk through.
“The data is clear: these new fare gates have created a better riding experience for customers and made it harder for would-be fare evaders to enter the system without paying,” Hochul said in a news release. “Now, we’re ramping up our plan to install these world-class fare gates across the subway system so even more riders can benefit.”
The West 72nd Street and Broadway station will be the first on the Upper West Side to have the fare gates installed.
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How are these leading to less fare evasion? Whenever I use these, there are always people waiting to go through directly behind someone. I never see this with turnstiles.
We used to do it when I was a teen in the 90s.
Two kids would go through together.
It was called a sexual term, “bu******ing” so that teens being teens could ask their friend (or crush”) ,
“can I you?
Some random dude I didn’t know did this with me without asking first. It was pretty alarming yet made me laugh.
A half a dozen people will walk through as soon as the door opens
I was wondering about this too. How long do they stay open?
Not very long, but obviously a determined individual could probably still squeeze by. I’ve used them at other stations and MTA has reported it cuts down on evasion.
I appreciate that they are trying to hard to deal with this, as it has been ignored for too long. It is very frustrating to see countless people avoid fares with no penalties.
That being said, I’m not sure this is the answer. I assume that purchasing, installing and maintaining these is not cheap. The first time one or more break, it will cause a huge problem.
I would periodically station someone there who has the authority to do something – many stations have people there to help who are doing nothing at all and completely ignore people hopping turnstiles or going through doors. Also set up cameras facing the turnstiles to put the fear in people that they are being seen. Seems easy.
I believe these were tested at several stations before a broader rollout, and I have to assume that the test showed that more fares were collected with the doors in place. I’m sure there is still evasion but presumably not as much. And my guess is that these are cheaper in the long run than actually stationing someone at each of the gates.
Stationing someone at the gates is useless since the criminals who jump the turnstiles do so right in front of the so-called security personnel without consequences. The security personnel are simply standing there on their phones not even looking or caring — and, in any event, they have no authority to arrest or even ticket the criminals.
The people stationed at the turnstiles are not going to risk their well-being by stopping people who jump over them – they can only serve as possibly a deterrent (ineffectively). Unless we had seriously armed people who were prepared to chase violators down the platforms, I don’t think stationing people there can help. I don’t think chases on subway platforms are a good idea either, just as the police won’t do high-speed car chases in the city. The chase itself can be a huge risk.
I have a friend who was pulled off the Grand Central-Times Square shuttle for walking between cars (while the train was sitting in the station with the doors open – didn’t know that was a rule). The police officer got on the train, asked him and another guy to get off, and gave them tickets. Very simple. Why can’t this be done to fare evaders?
It was a ticket (I think about $75) because he had no priors. I assume if he had a history of this then it could have been more.
I don’t know when that was but you seriously think Bragg will procedure that?
And even if we had that, the DA has to be willing to charge them. In Manhattan, Bragg has specifically said he won’t do so.
I guess the number of assaults are going to go up on the UWS. People are going to “back pack” themselves behind other people who pay the fare. I for one will not stand for it, and I will certainly take physical action when someone rubs up behind me like that.
Thank you Hochul for another idea that will waste money and not solve the problem.
Yeah, it was her idea. SMDH.
Like the billion dollars she spent on guard fences to keep people from being pushed. 10 million per person pushed on the last 10 years.
I actually like the guard fences. I wish more would be installed
It’s corruption at its finest. Why else does it cost so much to do so little? It’s no wonder this city has a debt of $130+ billion. We need a change in leadership for this State.
Mamdani isn’t helping either with his socialist views. It just encourages more corruption and laziness.
This is what I do I let them know you better not come behind me or else we’re going to have a problem! I make it very clear with my old school new Yorka 🙂 face and voice… What can I say born and raised here I’m not playing that game arot… At 56 yrs old. This is my City
You won’t be doing a damn thang.
When these were first rolled out, women with baby strollers were getting stuck in the gates, leaving crying children behind on the opposite side. Not to mention, teenagers were easily slipping under them—all while guards stood right at the gates. Why not use these funds and technology to install safety walls at the tracks instead?
Waste of money. Most of the fare evasion is on buses.
I see multiple people jumping over / crawling under UWS turnstiles every day. And before the delay was added to the emergency gates, many more walking through those. I don’t know if the new gates will help or not, but something needs to be done to address the lawlessness.
There is plenty of evasion of the subway also…but I highly doubt the 35% reduction figure is accurate and will offset the costs of these new turnstiles
I don’t see anything mentioned in the article about what they’re made of. From the photo, it looks like glass. Can’t imagine they would do that but if so, good luck with that one!
Just saw 2nd photo. Not glass.
From the picture it looks like it is high enough to let someone crawl under, which i often see people do with the current turnstiles.
The fact remains that if there is no fare there is no such thing as fare evasion.
Make public transportation fast and free!
There is no such thing as free, especially if you also want to make it fast, which involves upgraded trains and tracks and signals.
Better to make service efficient and charge a modest fee. $3 for the subway fare to go nearly anywhere in the city is fantastic value.
Look at other world class public transport systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm, none of them are free.
plus free subway-bus transfer
Not a great deal if you need ut because you cann’t walk from 79th to 72nd…
This. Raise the money for transit by taxing the people doing the least efficient thing….driving solo in private cars, not using the system that we actually want people to use.
Drivers of cars fund the majority of the cost of running the subway. Only 26% of the MTA’s operating budget comes from fares; the balance comes from taxes and tolls on cars (and trucks, buses, etc.), with a small piece from advertising on trains and buses. The capital budget also relies primarily on income from taxes and tolls, with recent contributions from the congestion-pricing fees paid by car/truck/bus drivers.
Both in NY and nationally, tax revenue from cars is dropping since it is collected at the gas pump, and nothing is paid by drivers of electric vehicles–one of the tradeoffs of lowering our carbon footprint.
Looks like someone could shimmy underneath. But they look easier to get a walker through.
If you want to crawl in the subway station floor to avoid paying, more power to you – sounds gross to me.
I read somewhere that once these new gates are installed, the current emergency exit gates will be removed since the new configuration will allow wheelchairs to exit.
The emergency exit gates won’t actually be removed, but the MTA is implementing a 15-second alarm delay. Transit employees will still have the ability to open them. Just imagine that scenario if there’s ever a real emergency.
What if there is an actual emergency? Will the gates stay open continuously while people stream out or will theybtry to close between passengers?
They have been trying these out at Astoria Blvd on the N and W line. When the door opens several people tailgate behind the person who paid the fare.
The only thing these gates will do is push fare evaders to 66th or 79th street or 72nd 8th avenue. Even with OMNY multiple people get through with one swipe . More cops in the system now that’s a great idea.
They have these at the 125th street ABCD station. They’re a pain, because they’re slower than the turnstiles, and there’s a longer pause between when someone can exit with one and when someone else can enter.
This is great. Put them at every station.
What about people doubling up and walking
thru
I have instances where the criminals go UNDERNEATH those gates, Is that an issue ?
They must be very undernourished!
Reading the comments so far, I am led to think that the devil is in the details. The overall principle, though, it seems to me, is, will laws be enforced or not?
When are they going to start using what has always worked; A police officer at the gate/turnstyle. That can produce a fare evasion decline by an average of 100 percent. Oh, and the extra cost for that police officer is more than paid for with the money saved from fare evasions.
The NYPD costs the city 30 million a day. They absolutely should be put to use. And take away their phones.
Yes putting a police officer at every entrance would probably reduce fare evasion (assuming they were being vigilant instead of being on their phones).
It would also cost eleventy bajillion dollars and I’d much rather have police doing higher value work.
It won’t be long before someone wedges an object into the doorpost that stops the door from closing and then free rides for everyone that day.
So the MTA has discovered America! Bravo! Fair gates – who would’ve thought! (Other than the 300 train systems all over the world that have used them for decades.)
Yeah ,put fare evasion before commuter safety .Hochul’s overlooks the people .Hate what shes done to New York
I’ve seen these in parts of Europe and Japan for a while. I wouldn’t call it a new innovation. The same thing happened when they installed the train time indicator at the station. They were around in Europe long before New York started using them.
These gates have long lines leaving the station. Everyone has to go one at time and wait for the door to close.
It is a nightmare.
They work just fine in london
So they failed 65% of the time. Example: in an hour 100 people didn’t pay before the new gates. After, 65 people didn’t pay. That’s success, and worthy of a billion plus expenditure?
Obviously no one who rides our subways regularly was asked if this would work before the decision was made to allocate money to procure them. People will crawl under these “gates” or go through them in tight groups on one swipe. I have to assume some relative of the city decision maker got this contract to produce this inadequate product or a kickback was given to select these devices. Like the turnstiles with the sawtooth shaped side tops, I see people jump them anyway. Blatantly stupid.
On the other hand, if you TRULY want people to ride public transportation instead of driving, make public transportation free. That would make a real change. No more inefficient token machines needed, plus truly reduced pollution, and truly reduced congestion.
There is no such thing as free.
About time! I’ve had enough of people essentially stealing from all of us by jumping the turnstile. We all end up paying if revenue declines from fare evasion.
Hopefully, this new design well be a deterrence. A similar design works quite well on the London Underground – a key factor being the rapid open clsoing of the gate once a passenger passes through.
Unfortunately, this does create another problem that many have mentioned—fare jumpers ‘backpacking’ behind payers. It’s happened to me when turnstiles were still the three-prong turnstile. This will just embolden the evaders to spoon, just a short step to unwanted bodily contact.
It seems obvious that there is no tech that effectively reduces evaders while still being convenient to payers. For the entire history of fare evasion, humans learn and adapt. So, millions of dollars in spending is just window dressing, a political showpiece.
Does the reported reduction in evasion cover cover the cost of installation? In how many years?
In Mexico City they knew my name at the airport before I checked in. Face recognition. However if no one is going to hold the evaders accountable then we are back at square one.
From the people who gave us new elevators in the same station that take 10 minutes to move one floor. I have the utmost confidence in the MTA.
Instead of spending millions more on technology that doesn’t work, why not just to back to the full-height turnstiles that were effective at preventing jumpers, duckers, and others who steal from the system?
Smart. Like the exit ones.
Every subway station used to have an MTA employee selling tokens. Then they went digital and took out the token booths to save money, even though many people claimed it would increase the number of people evading fares. I am curious whether that is a big reason why fare evasion is up. If so, it is a typical capitalist story. Executives try to save money in the short term by eliminating jobs. When that causes other problems, executives will pay consultants to try out every solution except actually bringing jobs back.
At least they took away the subway maps and replaced them with advertisements! And the system that’s supposed to tell us when the trains will be there is rarely visible on those signs and they’re usually ads – that’s Albany for you! So tired of our MTA dollars subsidizing the Trump parts of this state. If not for the parasites in Red areas, we could have the best subway system in the world.
Spot on. NYC is a massive net contributor.
They dont work. And if you don’t let the fellow pressing up against your backside go in on your fare, you risk physical retribution. It’s insane that in 2026 they can’t enforce this simple concept of paying one’s fare.
Jesus wept! What a waste of money
Farebeating loss os a drop on the bucket compared to monumenally expensive policy blunders like making those sbs ticket kiosks obsolete. Omny has one job to do: collect fares. Metrocard was already doing that. The only thing omny adds besides tap to pay – which could have been a simpler add on – is Big Brother tracking our every move as we go deeper into Surveillance country.
Now it is time to remove congestion pricing in NYC because it has been proven that is not working. Now it is just another means to suck money from people whom need it to survive on.
You need two sets of doors. Enter one, door closes behind you. If someone tries to enter behind, with you, press a button to alert the attendant for help. This button should also ring an alarm in every police vehicle and on beat cops phones or other device they would carry. Then you pass through the second door. Granted it will add a few seconds to get onto your train platform but should stop those trying to beat the fare.
This post made me laugh at its absurdity.
This morning’s news in LA:
“LA Metro’s new faregates only cut evasion by 36%”
That’s better than I expected
Instead of just relying on your personal observations – the key phrase is research. These are not new, there is much data, in numerous cities. These gate won’t eliminate, they will reduce fare evasion and increase revenue.
cities in europe have had these for years, only better. they’re not swinging doors and close completely. instead of all these “tries”, why not copy a proven method?!millions of dollars wasted and then they complain they have no money!
I think that some people will find a way to slip underneath, and as others have said, someone will let others in to come in with them.
This will be easier for me when I have packages/bags. Carrying those through the turnstiles was always a pain.
Such negative comments. I have seen these at some stations on the Alex, and the gates seem to me to be both effective and practical. Folks seem so afraid of change, of what “might not work.” I saw one comment complaining that riders weren’t asked first. Maybe that person wasn’t asked — but these have been out and tested (with other configurations). So, yes; These have been field tested with riders. 100% effective? What is? Give these a chance and see if it improves behavior. I assure you: no one’s coming in behind me on MY tap.
Great news! I really hate seeing blatant fare evasion … blatant robbery of the city … blatant undermining of standards of decency.
Really? This may reduce evasion by a tiny bit, but be serious. All they’ll do is crawl under that space between the bottom of the doors and the ground … or, push through in little groups of 3 or 4. C’mon you gotta do better than that to hold back those seasoned jumpers, creepers and climbers.
This is about the 5th version of these. We already know that someone is going to be rushing through with women and it’s going to be a bad situation. Plus, how long until we see people sliding under?
After losing $400 million last year to fare evasion, instead of having laws enforced again against fare evasion, this solution will bring more troubles with it. Funny how none of this was needed until 5-6 years ago after 100 years of having the subway.
And let’s add the bus situation where 1 out of 5 people or more just walk right on. Again, wasn’t happening before 5-6 years ago and NYC Transit had buses since 1956.
Way to go NYC. More problems and millions of dollars to invest just trying to get people to pay their “fair share” of a subway fare. What intelligent people run this city.
So friends will just bundle.
What’s old is new again! They used to have the floor-to-ceiling entry gates on the South side of this station up until a few years ago. Until they removed them to improve traffic flow. Now back to that!
What are you going to do about those who avoid paying on the bus ?
Big improvement for anyone on crutches or traveling with luggage. Strollers and wheelchairs, too. They’ve had these to get into the T in Boston for years.
I looking at the new gates they are still to low and they can slip right under them should be lower to the floor this way nobody can sneak underthem