LA Subway Operators Wise Up

A couple of weeks ago the Mrs. and I rode the LA subway system from Union Station to Hollywood and one of the things that surprised me was the lack of ticket gates in the subway stations. There was absolutely nothing to stop you from walking on the train without paying. Nobody checked tickets on the train, and after watching people in the stations and on the train I was pretty much convinced that we were the only ones who actually bought a ticket.

The MTA folks must have heard my complaint because they're going to start installing entry gates:

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board today approved a 10-year, $46 million lease contract with Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. to install barrier gates on the Metro Red Line, Metro Purple Line and selected light rail stations in efforts to prevent fare evasion, provide for seamless travel and improve transit station security.

The Metro Board also approved existing Cubic contract amendments for $12 million over a 10-year period for system maintenance, and $10 million for station modifications needed to relocate existing stand-alone ticket validators and civil work for gating Metro Rail stations. Installation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant system should take 18 to 24 months to complete. ...

Currently, Metro operates a barrier-free “honor system.” The agency loses $5.5 million per year due to fare evasion. Overall, Metro has found a 5 percent fare evasion rate across all of its rail lines. The new gating system could recover $3-6 million annually to offset these losses as well as realize significant annual savings on fare inspector costs. Based on current forecasts, the savings enabled by the system will begin to pay for itself in the fourth year of full system operation.

I'll bet the fare evasion rate is a lot higher than 5%. What I don't understand is why these gates weren't part of the original installation plan? I've ridden subways in Washington DC and New York City and the gates seemed to work pretty well and it only makes sense that you should control entry to the system if you plan to charge people to ride it.