MTA issues Request for Information for next generation fare gates

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for pre-qualified vendors of secure, accessible and modern fare gates to be deployed in the New York City (NYC) subway system. The MTA seeks to replace its legacy fare arrays and strategically deploy next generation fare gates that better align with the authority’s goals of promoting fare compliance and preventing fare evasion, enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities and people utilizing strollers and improving the overall customer experience. The Request for Information is the first phase of a multi-step procurement process to modernize the fare gates. 

“The safety of all New Yorkers is my top priority,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “These new fare gates will improve the safety and accessibility of the Subway system while ensuring riders have an easier time entering and exiting stations.” 

MTA says fare evasion has reached crisis levels in the transit system, with a loss of $285 million in revenue due to subway fare evasion in 2022 alone. A key recommendation from the MTA’s Blue-Ribbon Panel report on fare evasion was modernizing fare gates in the subway. In November, the MTA replaced an entire fare array at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue-JFK Airport station with more secure and accessible wide-aisle fare gates following a pilot at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway station in March 2023 and Sutphin-Archer in April 2023. 

The new fare gates at Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue-JFK Airport replaced both the turnstiles and the emergency exit gate at the south side of the station, which was a major contributor to subway fare evasion. The wide-aisle design of the new fare gates allows customers with strollers, wheelchairs and luggage to smoothly enter the system and replaces the emergency exit gate, which has been identified as a major source of fare evasion. The new array will allow the MTA to examine the feasibility of placing new fare gates at other stations in the future. 

“Reimagining the fare array is a common-sense solution to the uptick in fare evasion in the subway system. There’s a reason it was one of the best received recommendations delivered by the Blue-Ribbon Panel. Since the release of the Panel’s report, the MTA has taken a range of actions against fare evasion, including installation of prototype wide-aisle fare gates at two stations. This RFI will help us take things to the next level so we can make sure every person entering the system pays their share,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. 

“There is not much to debate, fare evasion is a problem. On subways, we lost close to $300 million in 2022 in fares that we rely on to deliver better, faster service. Customers tell us fare evasion is a key factor for their lack of satisfaction and I get it – everyone should pay their fair share to ride mass transit. Modernized fare gates are the natural starting point for subways to address this problem. While there is no one blanket solution, new designs can trim down on riders skipping out on paying while making it easier and more accessible for customers to enter the system,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey.   

Through the RFI process, the MTA will prequalify viable gates to establish an MTA Qualified Products List for its next generation of fare gates.  

Other MTA measures taken to deter fare evasion

Modernizing the fare array in subway stations is just one of the many initiatives undertaken by MTA agencies since the release of the Blue-Ribbon Panel report in May 2023. Since then, MTA agencies have taken the following actions: 

• Modified 777 turnstiles at 95 fare arrays in 42 stations to prevent customers from back-cocking. 
• Deployed 432 unarmed gate guards and re-keyed all 1,620 emergency exit access key locks. 
• Launched a pilot to delay egress on emergency exit gates to discourage opportunistic evasion. 
• Piloting fins on turnstiles to deter riders from attempting to jump the turnstiles. 
• Deployed NYC Transit EAGLE teams, with support from the New York Police Department (NYPD), to local and Select Bus Service bus stop hubs with high rates of fare evasion. 
• During the past three months, with targeted enforcement at three hubs, EAGLE teams have had more than 30,000 customer contacts that include 14,240 customers assisted with fare payment, 4,017 verbal warnings and 6,670 evasion summonses. 
• Collaborated with NYC on Fair Fares outreach with enhanced digital messaging and additional enrollment opportunities at Transit Talk events. 
• Formed partnerships between the MTA Metro-North Railroad and labor members to focus on increasing conductor fare collection using on-board video technology to review and correct performance. 
• Launched a pre-boarding inspection pilot program on MTA’s Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad at their major Midtown hubs, Grand Central Madison and Penn Station. Crews check tickets before customers board to discourage delayed e-tickets activation and boarding without a ticket. 
• So far both railroads have held two trial runs, reaching more than 7,000 customers, which confirmed a significant number of customers are boarding without pre-purchased or activated e-tickets. 
• The MTA Police Department has recorded a 210 percent increase in fare evasion arrests and 104 percent increase in fare evasion summonses between 2022 and 2023, thanks to enhanced train patrols and patrolling subway stations located at commuter railroad hubs. 
• MTA Bridges and Tunnels has further enhanced their crackdown efforts on scofflaws with the deployment of Portable License Plate Readers, which have increased license plate reads. 
• Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15, 2023, Bridge and Tunnel officers intercepted 2,718 vehicles – a 50 percent increase from the same time in 2022 and surpassed the total of 1,880 vehicles that were interdicted in all of 2022. Bridge and Tunnel officers have also issued 2,933 summonses for covered or obstructed license plates since the beginning of the year. 
• The MTA plans to coordinate with the NYPD for enhanced toll evasion enforcement for congestion pricing. 

“Station accessibility is more than adding an elevator or ramp to the station, it’s about being able to navigate the full station seamlessly. The first full array of wide-aisle gates showed our commitment to reimagining stations with accessibility at the front of our minds. By seeing what other designs and technology are available, we can further advance our mission for universal accessibility while also curbing fare evasion, another key agency goal,” said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer and Senior Advisor Quemuel Arroyo. 

“New Yorkers deserve modern subway faregates that are easier for everyone to use and harder for anyone to evade. Getting this Request for Information out to industry within 2023 was a key recommendation of our panel. We are excited to see the MTA timely moving forward to protect the quality, safety and accessibility of the subways that we all depend on,” said MTA's Blue-Ribbon Panel on Fare and Toll Evasion Co-Chairs Rosemonde Pierre-Louis and Roger Maldonado.