Los Angeles Losing Trust in its Transit Riders

For decades, Metro has trusted Los Angeles area passengers to abide by the honor system when paying for transit tickets. But, citing at least $4 million in revenue lost each year due to fare evasion on just one subway line alone, county supervisor and Metro board member Zev Yaroslavsky is asking the agency to look at ways to lock its gates.

According to Bloomekatz, "Yaroslavsky said one reason Metro officials failed to lock the gates sooner is because they were operating under the false assumption that only 3% of riders were evading fares. 'It's impossible that in a system where there's, practically speaking, no checking whether people paid their fare or not, that 97% would pay their fare,' Yaroslavsky said.

"The Metro staff tested locking gates at 10 stations last fall and winter and reported increased revenue at the 7th Street/Metro Center and North Hollywood stations by 18% to 22%."