Fed’s funding boosts fare gate upgrade project
The SFMTA’s project to upgrade Metro fare gates has received an $11 million boost from the Fed’s stimulus package. The $29 million project to replace fare gates with cashless Translink-only gates will be moved up 1 and a half years for completion in the fall of 2010.
Passengers will still be able to buy single rides by using fare machines similar to what BART uses and accept cash, debit, or credit to pay for a fare. Fast Passes will be accepted until they are phased out in favor of electronic monthly passes on Translink.
Given that the underground is a “proof of payment” area, why spend all that money on turnstiles? A post where you tag a card has got to be much cheaper than a turnstile (as they have on GG Transit)?
I imagine the gates are still required for passengers to pay with some sort of single fare media, probably magstripe paper similar to the Madrid Metro. There’s a demo unit from San Diego being shown today at Van Ness station, see the article for details when that will be shown.
Also the faregates are better at keeping obvious non-payers out.
But, in my experience underground/elevated rail systems have proof of payment or turnstiles, not both.
For example, Vancouver, B.C. and Berlin have proof of payment and not turnstiles. Paris, London, New York have turnstiles but no proof of payment.
London does not have turnstiles at every station, only at the central ones. Many suburban stations have open access to the platforms, and some mainline rail stations have faregates, while most do not. Same goes for the RER in Paris. In Boston and Philadelphia (which have subway-surface systems very much like the Muni Metro), the underground stations have turnstiles, and the above-ground stations have bus style pay-as-you-board, although Boston seems to be moving in the direction of a more POP-like system.