BART isstepping up its crackdown on fare evasion, rolling out faster-closing gates aimed at riders who continue to cheat the system.
Transit officials are now testing upgraded barriers at Antioch and Concord stations that shut in 500 milliseconds, down from the current 800 milliseconds. Officials hope that 0.3 seconds makes the difference.
The goal is to stop “piggybacking,” when someone sneaks in right behind a paying rider.
The push comes even asBART claimsits new gates, first installed in late 2023, are already reducing fare evasion.
A rider poll found 17% of respondents said they saw someone skip paying, compared to 25% the year before,SFistreported.
The agency says that amounts to a drop of nearly one third, though the data comes from informal surveys rather than direct enforcement counts.
Before the upgrades,BART was losingabout $25 million a year to fare evasion.
The old 1970s-era turnstiles were easy to jump or squeeze through, making them a frequent target for freeloaders.
Engineerstested several designs before landing on the current model, including double-decker gates, sharkfin-style barriers and a revolving door with interlocking teeth.
The chosen system uses Plexiglass panels along with cameras and sensors.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
