Red and Purple Line riders will see locked turnstiles at four different subway stations for one afternoon each beginning in late September, as the TAP folks continue to move the program forward.
It’s another step toward securing the system, as well as an attempt to get a handle on how many paper passes are still being used. That info will be helpful to the TAP conversion process since in order to lock the gates at some point, all the paper needs to go away. At the same time, the turnstile closure will be an educational opportunity in that passengers at the four selected stations will get a chance to try out TAP and, hopefully, see how easy it is.
During the exercise nothing will change for current TAP users. Nor will paper pass users, Metrolink riders or EZ Transit Pass passengers be required to change their travel habits. All stations will be well staffed with personnel who will tap through passengers whose fares do not open the gates.
ADA passengers, bicyclists, families with strollers and travelers with bulky baggage still will use the wider ADA gates. Those gates also will be shut but will open after the gate reader is tapped.
Gate locking will take place at four stations only: On the Red Line at Hollywood/Western and Vermont/Beverly stations and on the Purple Line at Wilshire/Normandie and Wilshire/Western stations. Those locations were selected because they’re light on transfer activity so there is expected to be less impact on customers.
Before final closure could begin — remember this is just a test — Metrolink and EZ Transit Pass passengers will need to be provided with TAP-enabled cards and ticket vending machines converted to TAP-only operations. Staff also is looking at options for paper transfers.
For more information on the four-week turnstile closure, check out the board report.
@John
Because they put too much faith on the honor system. Really, did they think Angelinos were going to be honest about it?
If proof-of-payment was the key, cities like NYC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc. would’ve been using it.
Oh, and don’t forget the usual excuse “We’re not NYC, London, or Tokyo, we’re Los Angeles. We can do it differently.”
Oops and they come back a decade later scratching their heads thinking it wasn’t a good idea at all and we end spending more tax dollars to fix it.
All of these is just a ruse to keep tax dollars flowing:
1. Ask for taxpayer money
2. Say “we’re not London or Tokyo, we’re Los Angeles, we’re different” when someone tries to point out the obvious
3. Problem arises and we go back to the drawing board to try to fix it. It costs more now because instead of 5 stations we now have 70 stations to deal with
4. Ask for more taxpayer money to fix it. Repeat from step 1.
People need to wake up!
Berlin uses proof of payment. Gates are not necessary for distance fares it just makes it easier to enforce.
Even if the turnstiles are locked, I am worried that passengers will use the emergency doors to enter the platform. I saw quite a few passengers using emergency doors to enter/exit on metro rails
Implementing TAP is costing many orders of magnitude more than the lost fares from non-paying passengers. TAP is a problem to a solution, not a solution to a problem.
If Metro really wanted to act like a business, it would stop throwing good money after bad into TAP. If you really want to protect the taxpayer, call for ending TAP!
With all the money being spent on TAP, it should be no surprise that there may be people getting paid to clamor for it online.