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FILE PHOTO: A Wall Street subway stop sign is seen in New York
(New York, NY) — Will New York City ever win the war against people who don’t pay the subway fare? Fare evasion cost the MTA one-billion-dollars in 2024. Now, the transit agency is trying to crackdown on fare beaters with recent upgrades. They include crescent-shaped sleeves on turnstiles to block a person from pulling it backward to create a gap, allowing them to squeeze through. There are also new shark-tooth metal “fins” designed to stop people trying to jump over and emergency doors that are programmed with a 15-second delay to discourage fare beaters. The MTA is also having agents stand at emergency doors. According to the MTA, gates with gate guards have seen a 31-percent drop in fare evasion.
This problem isn’t new. Back in 1976, city transit officials first sounded the alarm about fare evasion and nearly five decades later, the MTA is still battling the problem. It’s only intensified because of the thousands of entry points across the system and a steady stream of riders trying to outsmart the rules.
