Will turnstiles stop terrorists on Metro rail?

I posted yesterday that Metro was making a big to-do over an announcement today that it was receiving a grant today from the Governor's Office of Homeland Security. No one would tell me the amount Monday, because they didn't want to steal the thunder from the press conference this morning with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Times City Hall reporter Phil Willon attended. The grant is for $16 million, which includes money that will be used to install a gating system at the Metro Red and Purple subway lines as well as some light rail stations, officials said.

All of this, as journalists like to say, raises the question of how fare-beating motivated turnstiles have suddenly turned into terrorist traps (those are subway gates in New York in the above photo). That's the question that pestered me and Willon attacks in this dispatch:   

Both Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Homeland Security Advisor Matthew Bettenhausen said the turnstiles will enhance security at the rail lines, as well as stop fare jumpers, although a transportation security expert said the gates by themselves will have only a nominal effect on stopping potential terrorist attacks.

The grant comes from state money set aside for transit security, funded by the Proposition 1B bonding measure California voters approved in 2006 to improve and protect the state’s highways and other critical infrastructure.

The money will be used to help pay for a 10-year, $46-million project to install the barrier gates at the subway and selected light rail stations that the Metro board approved in February.

At the time, the project was touted as a way to collect an estimated $3 million to $6 million from people who evade paying fares. Currently, both the subway and light rail systems rely on the honor system, with sheriff’s deputies infrequently checking passengers tickets – and issuing citations to those without one.

On Tuesday, however, the gates and turnstiles – which are commonplace at every major subway system across the country -- were described as way increase “security and safety.’’

“It’s one more tool to provide the security that the people of Los Angeles deserve,’’ said Villaraigosa, who also serves at the chairman of the Metro board.

Both the mayor and Metro CEO Roger Snoble said the turnstiles also will enhance security by freeing up deputies from checking tickets, saying instead they will be able to concentrate on looking for suspicious passengers, packages or other security threats. In the future, the turnstiles could also be outfitted with devices that could detect explosives or other lethal threats, such as sarin gas.

However, national security expert Brian Jackson said that gates failed to prevent the 2005 bombings in London’s subway system that killed 52 commuters, as well as a sarin nerve gas attack inside the Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 12 people and sickening thousands of others.

“They are very hard systems to protect, because they are so accessible and easy to get to,’’ said Jackson, associate director of the Rand Corporation’s Homeland Security Research Program in Arlington, Virginia.

He also said the prospect of adding devices to instantaneously detect passengers carrying explosives and chemical or biological attacks are still in the research stage, as well as extremely expensive.

One major benefit of adding turnstiles, he said, is that they create a barrier between the interior of the station and the outside, allowing security officials to patrol the stations more effectively. The gates also funnel passengers through one point, which can be monitored more closely, he said.

--Steve Hymon and Phil Willon

photo: AFP/Getty Images, Emmanuel Dunand

Comments

[Dana Gabbard]

I've learned Metrolink staff have a new report on their system's integration with the fare gates:

http://metrolinktrains.com/documents/Planning_Committee_Agenda/PlDevCommAgenda071108.pdf (PDF page 18)

[Ken Ruben]

I have been a rider of Metro and predecessor companies for over 63 years so I have a little experience in riding public transit including all of the rail lines (Metro) in Southern California.

Dana Gabbard and Al Fishel along with BOBZ have mentioned enough reasons for opposing the gates that I don't have to add anything except for one thing:

I use at present, a paper Senior EZ Pass not yet available as a tap card which will eventually open the gates.

I (and others) have been told that by the time the gates are installed, the Senior EZ Pass will be available as a TAP card.

If ithe paper EZ to TAP isn't ready when the gates are installed,, how will I be able to enter any of the gates?

And the same applies for those with Metrolink tickets which has been brought up in another post.

Anyone have any comments on my question(s)?

[Mr Common Sense Democrat]

If only airports had turnstiles too, then 9/11 would never have happened!

[browne]

Metro vomits money on things they don't need and skimps on things we do need. I got to witness the insanity that was produced during the LA Marathon, when people tried to use the train. The ticket machines for some odd reason are very, slow. The way to navigate people on and off the train, very slow. It was horrible, it would be horrible if Metro put in these turnstiles and people (god forbid) actually used the train, during rushhour.

Metro is concerned with 3.8 mil, well they should stop spending 5 mil on towing private vehicles off the freeway. They should have LED screens that state the time instead of very expensive pointless flat screens.

How about running the green line more than every 20 minutes, ever stood at the one of the freeway stops in the evening and have to listen to cars roar by in a desolate train station, it's horrible.

Before they work on security that they don't need, they need to run the trains in a way conducive to getting people from point A to point B and the train doesn't even go anywhere, it doesn't even go to the airport.

And the terrorist checks at Union, come one we all know they are homeless people checks and they don't even use the Sheriffs anymore, they use the cleaning personnel, if there is a terrorist what's a guy with a broom going to do?

This all just smells of lie and back door dealing.

Browne Molyneux

[calwatch]

Alan, it is even worse. The proposal is not to have station agents at every station, but roving station agents that will respond to problems and someone at Rail Operations Center in Willowbrook yelling at passengers that jump the turnstiles, eat, or do other illegal things over the intercom, and hoping that they stop (assuming they can even understand the message delivered). Presumably the ROC monitor would dispatch a cop to handle the fare evader, gum chewer, or skateboarder, but with traffic, the response time is likely to be long. The station agents will either be stuck in traffic or forced to wait for the next train in order to handle the problems.

As far as homeland security, they have already installed chemical sensors near the entrances, scanning for some undisclosed bioterror items. You could install department store-style scanners without gating. All MTA staff would have to do is walk into Macy's and see how it is done. Of course, like at Macy's, most people ignore the message that they've apparently stolen something. Which is why you have people near the sensors. But wait, Metro's not funding monitors at all entrances. Oops.

[Annabel Adams]

Well, maybe this explains something I've wondered about. Recently Metro has started putting red line trains "out of service" when they arrive at Union Station. The Sheriffs standing there (with bulletproof vests) say that they are checking the trains for "security" purposes. It always seemed to me more like they were harassing sleeping passengers, but maybe those folksare actually -- potentially -- terrorists who forgot to get off the train.

[Alan Fishel]

Good to see many others feel the same about the gates as I do. This is sure and example of a solution looking for a problem.

What a boondoggle the MTA Board gave to the riders of the rail lines. If the board had security people and fare inspectors doing there tjob here would be no need for gates. Why should anyone pay a fair since they are never checked? I am more likely to see vender’s, noise teenagers or homeless people on the train than an inspector. In my last 20 plus rides on the Blue Red and Gold lines (I seldom use the Green Line) I have yet seen a fare inspector or have been asked for my ticket.

Now with the gates, they will have to have attendants at every set of gates to assist with wheelchairs, bikes, shopping carts or broken gates and to prevent “gate jumping” So now they will need more employees to watch the stations and technicians to keep the gates working.

How are the gates going to help with”homeland security”? If some one with a bomb wants to enter a station they can pay a fare and they are in. Not only do we have to pay for the gates we now have to pay more for all of the attendants. Someone has it right when they say a large contract goes to a single source. Whose kids are going to college sponsored by Cubic? Cameras and chemical sensors are great but why gates?

I understand the Orange Line has the highest level of fare evaders but no gates there. Come on MTA Board do something right for a change.

[M]

ST, those of us "whining" about the turnstiles are NOT freeloaders (I've paid every single time I've enter the metro system - really), but instead people that don't want to see the train stations run into the same issues that our roads and streets have. We are people that would like Metro to utilize the money they get in effective ways instead of wasting it to catch the very small percentage of people that don't pay. Some of us actually appreciate the honor system in place and don't see why we all must be "punished" for that small percentage of people violating the policies when the cost benefit analysis doesn't point favorably to the installation of turnstiles. Some of us don't think that "just because everyone else is doing it" is a really good reason to do things (because as stated above, these turnstile systems were in place and did not stop terrorist attacks in the past.) We are people that understand how things cascade out of control and understand that trains run infrequently and understand multiplication and cause and effect relationships (one person is delayed at the turnstile or a huge line of people queue at the turnstile, which delays the person(s) behind them, which causes the person behind them to miss their train, which causes them to wait for another train for 10-20 minutes, which causes one to miss a transfer and be delayed another 10-20 minutes and ultimately be 20-40 minutes late for work, which assuming it happens once a week for an entire work year, amounts to 16-30 hours of extra time spent waiting for trains and buses per a year just because of the turnstile installation. This similar situation already happens at the ticket machines.)

[BOB2]

The Booz Allen study on fare evasion isn't worth the paper it was written on. Fare evasion rates taken by the Sheriff's don't support this report, and most of the staff at MTA know this. It is a justification to steer a $70 million sole source contract to Cubic corporation and support the incompetently mismanaged MTA TAP card program. The actual evasion rate in Los Angeles is lower than NYC with turnstiles. Most of the world is going the other way, which is why Tom Bradley and Kenny Hahn went barrier free. Turnstyles have no real impact on security, this is just more of your Homeland Security taxpayer dollars buying political favors.

[ST]

What in God's name is this whining about?! Tickets will still be sold at the machines, not the turnstyles. The turnstyles will be place beyond the ticket machines so everyone should have bought their tickets already by the time they reach the them. Just have your ticket or monthly pass in your hand before reaching the turnstyles.

Subways in London and Paris have turnstyles and the system works fine over there. God forbid you have to wait an extra 20 seconds during the rush hour commute to board. The only ones whining about turnstyles are freeloaders.

[RE]

I don't trust Metro to handle the small stuff correctly. Now they want to spend tens of millions to complicate things?

I 've been riding the Gold Line twice a day from Union Station to Memorial Park for ten months now. In that period of time I've been asked for my ticket about, oh, two or three times. I then see the sheriff's deputies, or whoever's doing the checking, scold other passengers for having "the wrong ticket," or "an expired ticket." I've never seen anyone get fined. If people don't have a ticket, do your job and fine them and increase your revenue flow, for crying out loud!

And I can't wait to see how much slower and more difficult the connections are between Metrolink and Metro with the addition of turnstiles. Here's another topic you can add to your ever-growing list, Steve: why are the connections between Metrolink and Metro not coordinated? For example, my morning Metrolink train officially gets in one minute before the next Gold line train. I (and about twenty other people) then have to run to make my connection, pausing to dodge the people lined up ACROSS the Gold Line entrance getting tickets (another example of Metro getting the small stuff wrong). If I don't run, I'm ten minutes late for work.

[Jerome H. Weymouth]

I don.'t see what the whining is about about! They have had turn-styles in the BART system since day one. It probably won't the terrorists. But it sure will stop the free loaders!

[M]

Also, have you ever been on a toll road? Even though they have multiple booths, traffic gets backed up because people have to slow down, fiddle with money and wait for the gate to go up and then drive through. This is the equivalent of what turnstiles would do to foot traffic. Additionally you can make an argument that 1 person being "delayed" at the turnstile, whether it be because they have a bike with them, small children, drop their ticket, trips on something, run into someone else or countless other actions, is the equivalent to a traffic jam on a road due to a car issue or accident. Not everyone can instantly transport themselves to another "lane". All it takes in a car is one person to step on their brakes and the effects ripple down the line of cars for a long time. Even adding the TAP towers has impeded foot traffic in and out of the stations for various reasons.

[M]

The last line of the article states: "The gates also funnel passengers through one point, which can be monitored more closely, he said."

[transit rider from real public transit city]

Apparently, none of the commenters have ever lived in a city with a real public transit system. Forget the terrorist link --- having fare gates is the next logical step in the Metro. It will add ticket purchasing options, guarantee more money for the program, and it just makes sense. And, they will have more than one turnstile - to the freak who thinks we'll all bottleneck through one. They must also know the person who thinks people will walk down and cross the tracks.

[perks]

Please. We all know that terrorists would never pay for a subway ticket. It makes perfect sense.

[Erik]

So the lack of (currently) 1 dollar and 25 cents will stop a SUICIDAL individual from carrying out his mission of slaying the infidels and getting the 72 virgins, huh?

Nice logic there Tony!

[Concerned Person]

Why would a terrorist want to get past the most concentrated area of the subway system? The turnstile is the biggest bottleneck with the highest concentration of people in a very small, enclosed space. It's the perfect target for the insane suicide bomber. So how is this helping, really?

[Taylor]

Here's the real reason for the gates:

"At the time, the project was touted as a way to collect an estimated $3 million to $6 million from people who evade paying fares. "

More money for the government. And you thought it was to protect you?

They call it security, and get the feds to pay for it.

[Craig]

Terrorists on Metro Rail? The most dangerous person I have seen on the Metro is some street bum that smelled like he had not had a shower for about a month.

[K]

Turnstiles are part of the normal operation of transit and should be funded with state dollars, not homeland dollars. If there are enhanced safety features, the CA ridership can pay for this when they go through the Turnstiles each day.

I thought the emphasis of homeland dollars in transit was supposed to support front line intel and prevention, such as training workers to identify suspicious behavior? This is a method proven in airports worldwide.

[Jimmy]

It is absolutely laughable that there are no gates to enter the subway in LA. The "honor system?" That's gotta be a joke. Get your head screwed on right LA. The smart people are begging for more mass transit, but your against installing gates so you can actually collect fares to make money to go toward the system? And how can you think you will be "trapped" in the station in case of emergency, and you'll have to "funnel" through one single point? You don't have one gate, you have a whole row of turnstiles.

[Spokker]

Please, God, oh God, please don't let them install fare gates.

[SK Duncan]

Anytime someone uses the word "terrorist" to justify a plan, we all better hold onto our wallets.

Find out what company is putting in the turnstiles, then look at the finances of the politicians who are advocating the turnstiles. You can bet that there were some political contributions and lobbyist gifts laid at the feet of those who are so hellbent on "stopping terrorists."

If five percent of the Metro riders are not paying the fare, that is a small loss compared to the expense of installing and maintaining turnstiles.

Like I said, hold on to your wallets...

[Tony Fernandez]

C S, I've heard that Metrolink will change their tickets, which is unfortunate because they just changed their tickets not too long ago.

[M]

I find this line in particular a little funny "... the turnstiles also will enhance security by freeing up deputies from checking tickets, saying instead they will be able to concentrate on looking for suspicious passengers, packages or other security threats."

I have been riding the Red Line and Gold Line daily during the week for the past 3 years. I think my ticket has been checked a total of about 5 times on the Red Line. So now the officers that checked my ticket an average of 2 times a year will be free to look at suspicious passengers and packages? That doesn't seem like that is saving them much in the grand scheme of things. Checking tickets on the Gold Line is another story. There it can easily happen every week or even every day in a week or even multiple times in a day, but there won't be turnstiles there.

I honestly see a barrier between the station and the outside world to be a bad thing. So when emergencies happen, like terrorist attacks and fires we'll be trapped in the subway stations instead of being able to get out. When floods of people transfer, they will all have to funnel through a single point that if someone trips or gets stuck in, it blocks everyone else. As it is, it can be very difficult to hit your TAP card on the little stations because the way the stations are set up for people to ideally travel through them is not how people actually move through the stations.

[Dana Gabbard]

CS, supposedly Metrolink and Metro are trying to work that out. I think some of us still squint at that aspect of the gating, among others.

So. Calif. Transit Advocates have prepared a page with links on the whole gating situation:

http://www.socata.net/gm/archives/00000070.shtml

[Anonymous]

A large part of the economic case for gating Metro Rail rests on the cost savings from reducing the number of sheriff's deputies and civilian personnel inspecting fares under the current proof-of-payment system -- and thereby on-duty at unpredictable times and places throughout the Metro system -- and replacing them with machinery, possibly attended by a lone station agent in a token booth. I'm really not sure how this increases security; a terrorist or saboteur can buy a ticket and pass through a gate as easily as you or I.

Metro has also suggested that gates will increase safety by preventing excessive numbers of patrons from entering a station at once, but no evidence has been offered that such conditions have occurred or are likely in the future, or that preventing this is worth installing gates and barriers that may increase the time required to evacuate a station in a genuine emergency.

I'm also concerned that installing gates at the entrances to light rail stations will cause fare evaders to cross the tracks elsewhere to reach the platforms, which may result over the long term in more trespasser strikes (and the claims expense and service delays they cause).

It is also worth paying attention to the concerns that Metrolink has about how to preserve their existing fare model, which includes a transfer to Metro Rail in the price of a Metrolink train ticket. The current Metrolink tickets don't work in any gate and don't need to; how this will change for a gated Metro--and what this will cost--remains to be seen.

It's hard to see that anyone benefits from the fare gating initiative except the vendors leasing the equipment and the consulting firms hired to make it all work.

[C S]

Anybody has any idea how will the turnstiles accommodate the metrolink tickets?

[Damien Newton]

Steve! You're stealing my headlines!

http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/02/28/turnstiles-needed-to-protect-us-from-terrorists/

:)

[mark harvis]

Turnstiles as terrorist preventers? Come on now. Next you know, the MTA and Mayor Tony will be telling us the threat level in the Pershing Square station is at Level Orange or some other such nonsense.

I think turnstiles are a good idea to gently dissuade freeloaders from riding without paying. But marketing them as terrorist preventers. . . .naw. That's a load of nonsense and it's not even a good lie it's so very transparent.

Hey, MTA and Mayor Tony, give us transit riders some consideration that we might have a brain or two to see through your false claims.