NYC Subways Testing Out AI Technology To Track Fare Evaders
New York City’s MTA has consistently blamed the design of the subway system and its turnstiles for rampant fare evasion. Now, three companies are fighting to take control over a $1.1 billion contract to redesign the turnstiles.
These firms have already installed new fare gates with tall doors as opposed to the more well-known waist-high turnstiles. These doors have been installed at 10 subway stations throughout the last two months as part of a testing period for a pilot program.
The program is also currently set to expand to 20 different subway stations within the next coming weeks, according to MTA Chair Janno Lieber while she testified at a state budget hearing in Albany this week.
At least two of the three companies have stated that their designs utilize some level of artificial intelligence technology to track fare evaders.
Cubic is the company that constructed most of the modern fare gates that are currently installed in the subway, as well as the now-retired MetroCard system. The company, however, has come under fire from MTA officials for delays and bugs with the rollout of the MTA’s new OMNY tap-to-pay system, according to the Gothamist.
MTA Chair Janno Lieber stated during the hearing:
“Cubic has not been a perfect partner and software developer and we ride them every day, all day. So we think most of it has been worked out, but there’s a couple of kinks we’re still working through, to be honest.”
Anthony Louh, Cibic’s director of business development, stated that the “hiccups” with the OMNY rollout have better prepared the company for taking on the new redesign contract.
Cubic’s new gates are also currently being tested at busy stations like Atlantic Terminal and Port Authority. They stated their intentions to add them to 125th Street station on the A, B, C, and D lines.
In terms of the use of AI, the gates have surveillance technology that are automatically meant to issue an alert whenever a fare is evaded. The officials for Cubic said that the equipment has cameras that record a five-second clip when someone doesn’t pay. The AI mechanism writes a physical description of the individual and then sends it to the MTA.
Conduent and STraffic are the other two companies fighting for the contract, and have also installed modern fare gates in subway stations that are currently being used.
Conduent specifically has its own form of AI technology as well that utilizes sensors to collect data on people who evade fares, according to reports.
“The pilot program continues and results will be reviewed at the appropriate time, with the vendors selected to supply fare gates for the future,” MTA spokesperson Eugene Resnick wrote.
The MTA is hoping to install new entry points at 150 of the subway’s 472 stations.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
