Sound Transit looks to other cities as it considers fare gates

SEATTLE – For every two passengers who pay for their light rail trips in Seattle, at least one more skips the fare.

Fare dodging happens for all to see post-pandemic, in a gateless system that relies on the willingness of riders to buy fare cards or tickets, along with sporadic spot checks by inspectors. Sound Transit’s governing board has balked at reviving strict enforcement where security guards issue citations, in favor of gentler tactics.

Many riders just feel insulted if they pay, and someone else is freeloading. Even former CEO Peter Rogoff griped about Mariners fans who drink $13 beers but won’t pay $2.75 for a ride home.

“When some people are tapping on, and other people just skate by without paying, that doesn’t seem fair,” said board member Dave Upthegrove, a Metropolitan King County Council member from SeaTac. In a democracy, it’s important everyone play by the same rules, he said.

Should fare card-reading gates be installed?

It’s a question posed across North America, and headed for Sound Transit leaders in 2024.

Edmonton and Minneapolis, whose stations were built barrier-free, will experiment with gates at a few stations, while St. Louis will build turnstiles systemwide. Vancouver, B.C., added gates to its busy SkyTrain in the mid-2010s, at a cost of $195 million. Los Angeles operates open and gated stations. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Washington, D.C., Metro, are replacing their short, easy-to-hurdle gates with taller versions.

Sometime this year, the Sound Transit staff will issue a detailed briefing to the board about fare gates, said spokesperson John Gallagher. There’s no current proposal to experiment with them.

Sound Transit commissioned a draft report, in response to board questions. That paper, dated Oct. 17, 2022, estimated it would cost $104 million to retrofit 19 Seattle stations and six in Tacoma, based on a review of other cities by consultant Cambridge Systematics. Follow-up research is needed.

Seattle’s actual costs would be far higher, staff expect, because of challenges such as installing new wires underground and through station floors, a risk the report acknowledged. The Urbanist posted and described the 56-page study last fall.

Why no gates?

Since its first trip in mid-2009, light rail has operated on a modified honor system, also called “proof of payment.” Security guards canvassed some trains, telling people to show an ORCA fare card or tickets from a station vending machine. Violators were removed and subject to citations.

Seattle followed the example of Portland, Minneapolis, Denver and Dallas. These barrier-free stations lowered construction costs, under the Federal Transit Administration’s original premise that light rail should be quick and simple to build for medium-sized cities, unlike a huge New York subway.

Sound Transit also worried about safety, that people would avoid fare gates by walking on the tracks, at five surface stations in Rainier Valley and Sodo.

During the 2010s, as many as 95% of riders paid their fares, while spot checks reached about one-tenth of railcars. Enforcement halted in 2020 to reduce COVID exposure, to reduce confrontations involving police or security guards, and in response to audit findings that Black and homeless riders were disproportionately cited. Nowadays, service-oriented fare ambassadors request proof of payment, but they’re understaffed and often ignored.

In 2023, staff estimated only 55% of riders were paying fares. Youths ride free statewide, so actual evasion is somewhat less.

Sound Transit has spent $6.7 million on yellow stripes, signs, and repositioned ORCA fare card readers, to mark a Fare Paid Zone inside the stations. That way, transit workers can check passengers for payment before they squeeze into a crowded train.

Fares are projected at $59.4 million in 2024, or only 2.1% of the $2.9 billion income, mainly from local and federal taxpayers.

Sound Transit staff set a goal to improve compliance to 75%, but even that would cover only 19% of light rail operating costs, compared to 40% achieved in 2017.

Light rail fares in Seattle range from $2.25 to $3.50 based on distance. Those will change to a flat $3 in late 2024 when the Lynnwood extension opens. Low-income riders, who might otherwise not be able to afford full fares, can obtain an ORCA Lift fare card for $1 trips.

What other cities do

Edmonton and Calgary train lines in Alberta have been rocked by stabbings and loitering, pushing elected officials to consider fare gates, more as a grasp toward security than as a moneymaker.

In mid-December, the Edmonton City Council voted to try fare gates at two stations by late 2024.

“Vancouver installed fare gates and saw an immediate drop in crimes for disorderly conduct and an increase in revenue,” said Edmonton Councillor Tim Cartmell, who sponsored the council bill. “It might give some people confidence the system is safer.” (Cartmell said his family felt more comfortable riding Sound Transit than Edmonton’s system when he visited Seattle in November to watch an Oilers-Kraken hockey game.)

Calgary Transit rejected fare gates after its consultant team found no correlation between gates and safety, based on examining older systems including Boston and Toronto. Gates are also incompatible with Calgary’s nine-station free ride zone downtown, and require $284 million to retrofit 36 other stations, they reported.

Instead, the city will boost spending $12 million over two years for police night patrols, civilian guards, and community outreach teams who help people on the CTrain find health care, detox and housing.

Minneapolis is spending $3 million to test turnstiles at four stations.

“Not all fare evaders are criminals, but for the most part, all criminals are fare evaders,” Police Chief Ernest Morales told KSTP News.

Denver will add fare gates and barriers, along with better lighting and housing assistance, at its hub Union Station to deter loitering.

A nearer comparison is Vancouver SkyTrain, which spent $195 million to convert 53 stations last decade.

“It was certainly a wise thing to do politically. People’s sense of fairness was being eroded, so it had to be done eventually,” says Gord Price, retired director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program.

A few months after fare gates were completed in April 2016, TransLink reported higher income of 7.8% or an annual gain of $30 million, because of reduced evasion, combined with growing ridership.

The agency didn’t track the data afterward and still loses millions from unpaid rides, the Vancouver Sun reported in 2019.

Portland’s Tri-Met sometimes discusses fare gates, and almost added a few in 2017. There’s no such plan. Most of the city’s 94 light rail stations are at the surface where gates are challenging, including downtown sidewalks where they would block everybody else, spokesperson Tyler Graf said.

How about Seattle?

Fare gates at Sound Transit might boost operating revenues without resorting to law enforcement, solving two problems at once, Upthegrove said, though he awaits more analysis.

Station changes are possible but difficult.

The Sound Transit draft report’s most surprising angle is the option of a partially-gated network, like Los Angeles. Consultants said retrofitting the five busiest stations – Northgate, University District, Capitol Hill, Westlake, and International District/Chinatown – for $31 million would break even within one to seven years, and reap $88 million-plus over 20 years, they said. (Comparisons like these rely on unproven assumptions about construction costs, and whether other tactics will improve fare payment.)

Fare gates at all stations would need a decade or two to recover a $104 million upfront investment. The report doesn’t delve into whether gates at Sound Transit might deter open drug use and crime.

The report doesn’t examine future lines to Lynnwood, Federal Way, or Redmond, not to mention West Seattle, Ballard, Tacoma, Everett and Issaquah. Fare gates would be cheaper if installed during initial construction and for some of corridors it’s too late to widen the entrances and add utility wires without piling up new engineering costs. At the old downtown stations, Sound Transit has already committed to replacing 56 elevators and escalators starting in 2024, so fare gate construction would compete for space and money.

Transit officials and advocates have mentioned other misgivings, such as a less-welcoming atmosphere triggered by gates and fences. Where stations are narrow, cities have struggled to provide access for people using wheelchairs, walkers, or strollers.

In the broader picture, a fare gate project interferes with the hope of some transit boosters of evolving toward zero fares for all.

While a nine-figure gate retrofit appears daunting, Sound Transit spending for fare ambassadors is projected at $672 million over 25 years. On the other hand, they provide other value to greet and help travelers, board members emphasize.

Sound Transit enjoys a top credit rating, federal grants, and a rich vein of sales, property and car-tab taxes – though spiking costs could delay future megaprojects. The agency can weather fare losses for some time.

It’s a different story at some systems, which risk service cuts unless they solve fare losses. Last Thursday, BART unveiled new-generation gates more than 7 feet tall at the West Oakland Station, with plans for more than 700 systemwide by late 2025, costing $90 million.

“Among the world’s transit agencies, BART relies the most on rider fares; they are directly responsible for funding our operations,” said a statement by general manager Bob Powers.

The system historically funds 70% of operations from its riders, so he can’t afford to leave money on the table.