These gates aren\u2019t scaring away fare beaters \u2014 case closed.<\/p>\n
The MTA\u2019s new subway gates are already getting blasted as \u201ceasy to beat\u201d \u2013 as even an elderly man with a cane was spotted easily skipping the fare at a Manhattan station Monday.<\/p>\n
The agency\u2019s latest bid at combating fare beating is falling flat with straphangers and even MTA workers, who told The Post the sliding plexiglass doors are no better \u201cthan the turnstile system\u201d and could lead to disastrous injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so easy to beat the fare just by following someone through. I stand here all day watching people do it. We can\u2019t do anything,\u201d\u00a0an MTA worker said at the Broadway Lafayette subway station.<\/p>\n
A man is seen sliding his way through the subway gate. Obtained by NYPost<\/p>\n
This successful fare evasion occurred at the Atlantic Avenue station. Obtained by NYPost<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cops were here earlier, they don\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the morning rush at the major Manhattan hub, The Post witnessed at least six riders get past the \u201cpaddle door\u201d gates at the entryway at East Houston and Broadway in about an hour, including the lawbreaker with the cane.<\/p>\n
The MTA worker also\u00a0pointed out a homeless man who shimmied underneath the panels.<\/p>\n
Riders intent on avoiding the $2.90 fee have an easier time trailing behind a fellow commuter entering the transit system instead of a straphanger on their way out.<\/p>\n
\u201cHomeless guys will sometimes slide underneath, but they\u2019re the only ones who do that. Last week I saw a guy climb over the top,\u201d the worker said. \u201cIf a guy tries that and falls down and breaks his back, you\u2019re looking at a lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n
An MTA spokesperson stressed the new fare gates are part of a pilot program \u201cusing technology from transit systems around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we evaluate their performance, we\u2019re learning more every day about how to design modern, effective fare gates for New York City,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n
Among the fare evaders was an elderly man with a cane. Gregory P. Mango<\/p>\n
He is seen smiling after successfully getting through the gate. Gregory P. Mango<\/p>\n
The fare beating effort will ultimately cost $1.1 billion with 150 subway stations getting the new gates over the next several years.<\/p>\n
So far, roughly 20 stations are piloting three new gate designs from three different vendors before a final company or companies are selected, according to the MTA. <\/p>\n
At the Broadway Lafayette station, alarms at the gates will go off \u2013 four loud blasts \u2014 when a fare beater sneaks through.<\/p>\n
But the alarms can also be set off if a paying commuter simply stands in the open gate without passing for too long.<\/p>\n
An unidentified woman is seen with her head stuck in the new MTA turnstile at the Broadway Lafayette station in a video posted to Instagram. Instagram \/ @jmbp000<\/p>\n
Rider Frank Cumming called the latest MTA endeavor \u201ca waste of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are finding ways to get through anyway, and they\u2019re going to get hurt. And then we\u2019re looking at lawsuits, and the lawsuits that add up are going to cost more than the money saved from fare beaters,\u201d said the 45-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see it work out, but it\u2019s not going to. What they should do is bring back the revolving door kinds of doors. You can\u2019t hop those. And these right here, if they close on you, you can get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another rider, Kyong Kim, said she doesn\u2019t think it\u2019ll meaningfully cut down on fare evasion while causing safety issues.<\/p>\n
She claimed the MTA was using riders as \u201cguinea pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s any better than the turnstile system, and it\u2019s a huge cost to make something that\u2019s not working,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a teenage girl\u2019s head caught between these two doors, and it was quite terrifying \u2026 They really have to study these things. I don\u2019t really know why they\u2019re testing this out in public now. This kind of thing should have been tested out in their own facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
While a second MTA staffer at the station said she believes the new dates are reducing fare evasion, she also noted the unenviable positions riders can find themselves in.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople get their heads stuck, their backpacks stuck,\u201d the worker said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way this can work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The MTA has lost about $400 million to subway fare evasion over the past year<\/a> \u2013 despite the agency installing spikes on each side of the turnstile and flaps over the bars.<\/a><\/p>\n