MTA to add spikes and paddles at most NYC subway stations to curb fare evasion
Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr
Almost every New York City subway turnstile will soon feature protective fins, sleeves, and spikes to prevent fare evasion, the MTA said Monday. NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow told the MTA board that the agency plans to spend $7.3 million to install the technology at 129 additional stations by January, adding to the 327 of the city’s 472 subway stations that already have it. According to Crichlow, stations equipped with the technology, designed to make it harder to hop or slip around a turnstile, have seen fare evasion drop by up to 60 percent.
The new measures build on efforts that began earlier this year. The MTA has installed stainless-steel fins between turnstiles to deter fare evaders from grabbing the sides of the gates to propel themselves over. Sleeves, mounted on the turnstile bars, make it more difficult for riders to lift their feet over the bar while hopping.
“Some members of the public might think these interventions just look funny,” Crichlow said, “but the truth of the matter is, these modifications work.”
Through a contract ratified during Monday’s meeting, Boyce Technologies, Inc. will manufacture the protective elements to be installed at the remaining subway stations by January. So far, the agency has installed 2,900 of the fins and sleeves at 327 stations, as Gothamist reported, and an MTA procurement document shows.
During the meeting, MTA board member David Jones raised concerns about the safety of the new features, noting that some young New Yorkers continue to attempt turnstile hopping despite protective measures. While hopping might appear physically manageable, it can be deadly: in January 2022, a man died after trying to hop over a turnstile at the Forest Hills–71st Avenue subway station, falling and snapping his neck, according to QNS.
In response, Crichlow said he had no comment on how many people get injured hopping turnstiles.
The new features are part of the MTA’s broader effort to curb fare evasion throughout the subway and bus system. According to the Citizens Budget Commission, 330 subway fares and 710 bus fares were evaded every minute in 2024. Last year, evasion cost the MTA about $1 billion: $568 million in unpaid bus fares, $350 million in unpaid subway fares, at least $46 million in unpaid commuter rail tickets, and at least $51 million in unpaid tolls.
This year, fare evasion has cost the agency about $400 million just on subway fares alone, according to the MTA.
Previous efforts include the MTA’s reconfiguration of subway turnstiles to prevent “back-cocking,” the technique where riders slightly pull back the turnstile’s arm so they can squeeze through without paying. The agency has also delayed the opening of emergency doors at stations and deployed unarmed fare guards to discourage fare evaders.
Additionally, the MTA plans to pilot new fare gates from four companies at 20 stations later this month, as part of a program announced in April. The gates, developed by Conduent, Cubic, Scheidt & Bachmann, and STraffic, use “cutting-edge” technology already employed in other transit systems worldwide to help prevent fare evasion.
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