MTAPhotos / STraffic
An Upper East Side subway station is set to get new, touch-free fare gates at all of its entrances, as part of a program the MTA says has already made a big dent in fare evasion.
Advertisement
The 86th Street 4/5/6 station is on the list of the next 20 stations slated for modern fare gates, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday. Early station preparation work is expected to begin in October, and the gates are set to start going in during the fourth quarter of this year, according to the governor’s office.The expansion follows an MTA pilot that put new gates in 20 stations, including the 23 St and 33 St stations on the 6 line. Fare evasion at the pilot stations fell by an average of 35 percent. Hoyt St and Nostrand Av saw the steepest declines, both down 72 percent. Roughly 40 to 50 percent of typical daily subway riders have used the new gates at least once since the pilot began.
“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. “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 gates are also meant to make stations easier to get through. NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said they’re more accessible and improve customer flow. The tri-wheel turnstiles the MTA began installing in the early 1990s weren’t accessible for riders using wheelchairs or traveling with strollers or luggage. The emergency exit gates the MTA created as a workaround eventually became known as the “superhighway” for fare evasion.
Along with 86th Street, the other Manhattan stations on the list are 14 St-Union Sq, 72 St (1/2/3), 125 St (4/5/6), Chambers St (1/2/3) and Spring St (C/E).
Advertisement
The MTA has qualified three vendors, Cubic, STraffic and Conduent, to bid on the work, with bids for this first phase due this month. The 20 stations are the first phase of a $1.1 billion plan in the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan to upgrade fare control areas at 150 stations. Those 150 stations serve nearly three quarters of all daily subway riders. A second phase of 30 more stations is expected to be under construction by the end of next year.“Right now, we’re focused on expanding to the next 20, but thanks to Governor Hochul, we’ll get to 150 stations as part of the billion-dollar investment funded in the MTA Capital Plan,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
