Last week, Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins announced that Metro will begin rolling out new taller fare gates intended to reduce fare evasion and improve safety.
Metro has been under pressure to respond to a mainstream media narrative that their system is unsafe and that commuters had subsequently "abandoned large swaths of the Metro train system." In actuality, ridership has steadily increased over the past two years and the rise in reported crime has been small - mainly in the form of so-called victimless crimes, including drug usage, trespassing, and "loitering." Despite a handful of horrifying high profile murders/stabbings, overall the system remains very safe and crime remains statistically minimal.
Metro has been addressing the issue of crime - actual and perceived - through various interventions. Some are positive: new ambassadors and bathrooms, stepped-up homeless outreach and cleaning. Some are punitive: a law enforcement "surge," eliminating vendors, piping in uncomfortably loud music and other "station experience" changes. Starting in early 2023, Metro began piloting many of these interventions at MacArthur Park Station. Subsequently, Metro has extended them to various other stations.
The effort to keep non-paying riders off the system is rooted in the assertion of former Metro security chief Gina Osborn that “Not all fare evaders are criminals, but all criminals are fare evaders.” Although fares are not a big part of Metro revenue, fare enforcement and gate hardening help Metro limit the access of so-called "non-destination travelers" to the system.
Metro installed barriers to somewhat harden turnstiles at MacArthur Park Station and had been evaluating newer stronger fare gates.
At last week's board meeting, CEO Wiggins announced that the new gates will be coming to various stations in 2025. All new stations will have the taller gates, including:
- LAX/Metro Transit Center Station (on the C and K Lines) - opening in early 2025
- A Line (former Foothill Gold Line) extension to Pomona - opening mid-2025
- D Line (former Purple Line) extension to Beverly Hills - opening late 2025
In addition, Metro will be retrofitting ten existing stations, chosen based on higher numbers of reported incidents, per Wiggins.
- A/B/D/E Lines 7th St
- A Line Firestone Station
- A/C Lines Rosa Parks / Willowbrook
- B/D Lines Pershing Square
- B/D Lines Westlake / MacArthur Park
- B/D Lines Wilshire / Vermont
- B Line Vermont / Santa Monica Boulevard
- B Line Hollywood / Western
- B Line North Hollywood
- C Line Harbor Freeway
Boardmembers who rarely ride Metro have praised the new gates (posting on social media) but some transit advocates see them as misguided.
Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA) Advocacy Director Alfonso Directo noted that "Metro’s decision to install tall fare gates ignores the needs of its riders, eight in ten of whom are living on very low income."
"Metro should be investing in creating warm, welcoming, and resource-full public spaces that foster connection to one another and the region," wrote Directo, echoing ACT-LA's Metro as a Sanctuary report. ACT-LA is calling for Metro to activate stations by prioritizing welcoming features, facilitating street vendors, adding more transit ambassadors and more benches, and implementing universal fareless transit.
