02/21/2008: "SO.CA.TA opposes Metro rail gating proposal"

We have testified at every opportunity about the Metro Rail gating proposal.

Our primary concerns are that the gates will not recover sufficient unpaid fare revenues to pay for their operation, that the removal of fare inspectors will lower security on the rail system, and that the gates will cause difficulties at rush hour at Union Station due to high transfer ridership from the Metrolink commuter rail system. (Click "more" for links to various documents we referred to during our testimony.)

The blog MetroRiderLA analyzes the latest Metro staff report on the gating proposal in its entry Deconstructing Fare Gates

The final draft of the Booz Allen Hamilton Gating Feasibilty Study and a related PowerPoint presentation presented to the Metro Board outlines the difficulties that placing gates in the existing Metro Rail system would entail.

At a special meeting held Feb. 8 the Board of Directors of Metrolink approved item 5 on communicating to the Metro Board a preliminary impact analysis Metrolink has prepared regarding the impact on its ridership of Metro's gating proposal and requesting that the staffs of the two agencies collaborate on the completion of the analysis and preparing implementation strategies for mitigation; pp.14-23 of the agenda packet for the Feb. 22 Metrolink Board meeting includes the minutes of the Feb. 8 meeting.

The Transit Coalition has posted the analysis of the gating proposal by Richard Stanger, former CEO of Metrolink.

The Metro Board Archives has the staff reponseto Stanger analysis.

Coverage of the issue includes a lengthy article in the Los Angeles Weekly. Also of interest from a urbanists' perspective are the comments by design critic Christopher Hawthorne published in the Los Angeles Times