SEPTA is considering a pilot program to install full-length faregates in certain stations to deter fare jumpers.
If approved on Thursday, SEPTA will install the gates at two stops on the Market-Frankford Line. The move aims to counter the recent rise in fare evasion on SEPTA.
"The most common behavior with fare evasion is jumping over the turnstile. You simply couldn't do that with the way these gates are configured," SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch told NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW.
The new vertical gates will open and close to let passengers through. Overhead sensors will be installed to sound an alarm if one customer follows closely behind another without paying, KYW reported.
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The gates will even be able to differentiate between adults, children and objects, such as wheelchairs and strollers, according to the proposal. The system will also be able to accurately count fare evaders who try to piggyback or force their way through the gates.
The pilot program will include the 13th Street and 34th Street stations on the Market-Frankford Line.
The gates would be installed late this year or early next year if the SEPTA board votes to approve the $924,000 contract for 22 new gates on Thursday. The new gates will be compatible with SEPTA's existing payment system.
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SEPTA reported nearly 2,800 fare evasion cases in 2022, up from 800 the previous year, according to KYW.
Washington, D.C.'s metro system is also planning to upgrade its faregates to make them taller and more difficult to jump over, according to NBC4 Washington. Metro believes fare evasion costs the transit system $40 million a year.
