Customer Service, Operations and Security Committee

Information Item III-A

June 8, 2017

Fair Share Pilot

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 WashingtonMetropolitanAreaTransitAuthority
BoardAction/InformationSummary

MEADNumber: Resolution:
Action Information
201878 Yes No

TITLE:

FairSharePilot

PRESENTATIONSUMMARY:

TheFairSharepilotandothereffortstoreducefareevasionaredesignedto
improvethesafetyofemployeesandcustomers,increaserevenuecollection,and
providemoreaccuratefareboxridershipcounts.

PURPOSE:

ToprovideanoverviewofeffortstoreducefareevasionintheMetrorailand
Metrobussystems,andtheinitialresultsoftheFairSharepilotunderwayatFort
TottenandGalleryPlaceMetrorailstations.

DESCRIPTION:

TheultimategoaloftheFairSharepilotistoreducetheamountoffareevasionon
therailsystembystoppingtheuseofstationswinggatesexceptintheeventofan
emergency.Staffevaluatedthepilotusinganumberoffactors,including:
effectivenessofsecuringdevicesandgatestops,usageoftheswinggates,station
managerfeedbackandcustomerresponse.

KeyHighlights:

Fareevasionisanissueatalltransitproperties,includingMetro.It
presentsasafetyconcernforemployees,anequityissueforpaying
customers,reducesMetrosrevenue,andresultsininaccuratefarebox
ridershipcounts.

IntheMetrorailsystem,improperuseoftheswinggatesistheprimary
waythatcustomersavoidpayingfares.

TheFairSharepilotbeganonMay1,2017,atFortTottenandGallery
Placestations.Thegoalofthepilotwastodetermineifsecuring

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 devicesontheswinggates,aswellasnewsignage,employee
education,andMTPDsupportwouldbeeffectiveinchangingcustomer
behaviorandreducingfareevasion.

Basedonthefindings,Metrostaffismovingforwardwith
implementationoftheFairShareprogramatadditionalstations.

BackgroundandHistory:

Overthepastyear,Metrohaseliminatedpaperfarecardsandnearly
completelyeliminatedflashpasses,resultinginallMetropassengershaving
cardstheycantaptoopenfaregatesorboardabus.Staffhasworkedover
thelastseveralmonthswithMetroAccesscustomersandtheircompanionsto
replaceflashpasswithSmarTripcardsthatallowthemtoenterthroughpaid
faregates.Likewise,MetrohaspartneredwiththeDistrictofColumbiato
ensurestudentsusingDCOnecardsareabletotapthroughgates.Inpast
years,somestudentsboardedbuseswithflashpasses.Now,allstudentsare
requiredtotapDCOneCards.

Theseeffortshavelargelyeliminatedtheneedforcustomerstoaccessthe
swinggatesexceptintheeventofanemergency.Thishelpstoimprovefare
compliancebyeliminatingthesubstantialgroupsofpassengerswhowere
previouslyinstructedtobypassthefareboxforlegitimatereasons.

Anumberofchallengescontinuetomakefarecollectionadifficultissue:

Assaultrisklimitsstaffrole.Duetotheriskofassault,busoperators
andstationmanagersplayalimitedroleinfareenforcement.Forsafety,
busoperatorsareinstructednottoconfrontpassengerswhodonotpay.
Allpassengersarequotedthefarebyanautomatedannouncementor
theoperator.Stationmanagersarenotdirectedtoenforcefaresthrough
confrontationwithpassengers.

Limitedpoliceresources.MetroTransitPoliceofficersplaytheleading
roleinenforcingfarecollection,optimizingdeploymentsusingtrend
analysis,buttheyareonlyabletobepresentatafractionofstation
entrancesandonalimitednumberofbusroutes.

Permissiveswinggates.Atnonpilotstations,railstationswinggates
openbothways,withnoaudiblealarms,makingiteasyforpeopleto
enterorexitstationsthroughthegateswithlittleimpediment.This
encouragesmoreattemptstoevadethefare,leadingtomorepotential
conflictsbetweenemployeesandcustomers.

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Discussion:

Conflictsbetweenemployeesandcustomersoverfaresareasafetyand
customerserviceconcernatMetro.Fareevasioncreatesrealandperceived
fairnessissuesamongcustomers,mostofwhompayforeveryride.Italso
directlyresultsinthelossofrevenuethatMetroneedstoprovidesafeand
reliablebusandrailservice,andindirectlyimpactsfederalfundingformulas
andlocalsubsidydiscussionsbyreducingtheofficialfareboxridershipcount,
ameasureofourvaluetotheregion.

Fareevasiontakesanumberofformsonthebusandrailsystems.On
Metrorail,theuseofswinggatesistheprimarywaythatcustomeravoid
payingfares.Customersalsotailgate,whichoccurswhenafareevader
closelyfollowsapayingcustomerthroughthefaregatesjumpoverorgo
underthefaregatepaddlesandsqueezethroughthebarriers.OnMetrobus,
theprimaryformsoffareevasionarebypassingthefareboxwhenenteringthe
busandenteringthroughthereardoorofthebus.

TheFairSharepilotwasdevelopedtoaddresstheissueofswinggate
usageintheMetorrailsystem.ThepilotbeganonMay1,2017,atFortTotten
andGalleryPlacestations.Thegoalofthepilotwastodetermineifthe
programwouldbeeffectiveinchangingcustomerbehaviorandreducingfare
evasion.

Twodifferentdesignsforsecuringorlimitingmovementthroughthegatewere
testedduringthepilot.DuetoarequirementundertheAmericanswith
DisabilitiesAct(ADA),amaneuveringareaof5by5oneachsideofthe
swinggateisrequiredforthegatetobesecured.Forgateswiththat
maneuveringspace,amagneticsecuringdevicewasinstalled.Forgates
withouttheADArequiredspace,agatestopwasinstalledtolimitmovement
inthedirectionofegress.

GATESTOP:Nominimummaneuveringareaexistsatsomeswing
gatesbecausethegateislocatedtooclosetooneofthefaregatesor
tooclosetoawall.Thesegatescannotbesecuredandagatestopis
installedtolimittheswingmovementofthegateinthedirectionof
egress.

MAGNETICSECURINGDEVICE:Gateswiththerequiredmaneuver
areascanbesecuredwithamagneticsecuringdevice,pushtorelease
baronthegate,entrycardreader,exitcardreader,agatestatuslight,
andkioskcontrollers.Thesegatesalsoswingonlyinthedirectionof
egress.

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Thetwopilotstationshaveatotalofsevenswinggates(fiveatGalleryPlace
andtwoatFortTotten).FortTottengateswerebothsecuredduringthepilot.
AtGalleryPlace,theswinggatesincludebothsecuredandgatestop
configurations.

Inaddition,theFairSharepilotincludesnewgatesignage,employeeand
customereducation,andpoliceenforcement.Stationmanagersatthepilot
stationshavebeentrainedtousethenewequipmentandtomakeexceptions
toentrythroughtheswinggateunderverylimitedcircumstances,toinclude
uniformedpoliceofficers,employeesdeliveringequipmenttostations,andto
accommodateanyMetroAccessuserwhoseequipmentisnotsizedforADA
accessiblegates.

DuringtheFairSharepilot,additionalMetroTransitPolice(MTPD)officers
havebeendeployedtothepilotstationstoassistwithlawenforcement.This
supplementsMTPD'sregularlyconductedtargetedeffortstoenforcefare
regulationsinboththeMetrorailandMetrobussystem.Inanygivenweek,
MTPDissueshundredsofcitationsforfareevasion.

PilotResults

ReducedUsageofSwingGates:Duringthepilot,ithasbeenobserved
thatcustomersattemptingtofareevadethroughtheswinggatesfrequently
turnawaywhentheyencounterasecuredgate.Thesecuredconfiguration,
whichincludesmagneticsecuringdevicesandalarms,hasbeenmost
effective.Thegatestopconfigurationwasobservedtobelesseffectiveonce
regularfareevadersfiguredoutthattheswinggatecanstillbeusedby
swingingitintheoppositedirection.

MetrostaffreviewedsecurityfootagefromFortTottenStationtocompare
unauthorizedswinggateusagebeforetheFairSharepilot(March8,2017)
andfollowingtheinstallationofthemagneticsecuringdevice(May3,2017).
BecausetheFortTottenswinggateshavetherequiredADAmaneuvering
room,theywerefulllysecuredduringthepilot.Onbothdays,theswinggate
wasmonitoredbetween2:306:30p.m.A91%reductioninswinggate
usagewasnotedafterthegatesweresecuredandsignageinstalledaspart
oftheFairSharepilot.

Observationsduringthepilotrevealedthatcontinuededucationforboth
employeesandcustomersisneededtofurtherreducetheuseofswinggates,
exceptinemergencies.Also,itwasobservedthatoncethesecuringdevices
werereleasedduringanunauthorizedpassage,thegatesattimesremained
unsecured,allowingsomeadditionalpassengerstopassthrough.

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StationManagerFeedback:ConversationswereconductedwithStation
ManagersatthetwopilotlocationsinmidMaytogatherfeedbackontheFair
Sharepilot.

StationManagersweregenerallysupportiveofeffortstoreducefare
evasionthroughtheFairSharepilothowever,mostStationManagers
commentedthatfareevasiontacticsaremosteffectivewhencombined
withincreasedMTPDpresence.

Employeesgenerallyfeltthatthepilotwasworkingatslowingdownfare
evasion,butmanyindividualswerestillfindingwaystoexitwithout
paying(i.e.piggybackingthroughfaregates,jumpingovergates,etc.).

Twostationmanagersnotedthepilotwaspositiveinshowingthepublic
thatMetroisfocusingonfareevasion.

Twoweeksintothepilot,thestationmanagersdidnotreporta
significantchangeinthenumberofdisputesregardingfaresthatthey
experiencedwithcustomers.

Employeesatstationentranceswithsecuredswinggateswerefarmore
supportiveoftheFairSharepilotthanemployeesworkingnearan
unsecuredswinggate.

Stationmanagersworkingwithswinggateswithgatestops
installedobservedthatafterapproximatelyoneweekthegate
stopdevicewasnolongeradeterrentasfareevadersrealized
theycouldstillwalkthroughtheswinggate.

Employeesatsecuredswinggatessupporttheideaofexpanding
theprogramtomorestations,aslongas(1)MTPDshowedsome
presenceand(2)thesecuringdevicesremainedoperational.

DemonstratedCustomerSupportofFareCollectionEfforts:Metrostaff
havepolledridersinrecentyearsabouttheiropinionsoneffortstocrack
downonfareevasion.Thefindingsdemonstrateoverwhelmingsupportfor
effortstoreducefareevasion.

Nearlyallriders(92%)saidtheysupportMetrocrackingdownonfare
evasionasawaytorealizeadditionalfundseachyear(fromFY16
BudgetOutreachtothePublicsurvey).

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 Alargeplurality(84%)ofCommunityBasedOrganizationssupport
Metrocrackingdownonfareevasionasawaytorealizeadditional
fundseachyear(fromFY16BudgetOutreachtoCBOssurvey).

NextSteps

AstheFairSharepilotcontinues,Metroengineersareconductingaformal
reviewofthesecuringdevicestoensureeffectivenessandtroubleshootany
mechanicalissuesraisedduringthetrial.Metrostaffarealsobeginningto
planfortheexpansionoftheFairSharepilottosecureadditionalswinggates
athighfareevasionstations.ContinuededucationforcustomersandMetro
employees,aswellasstrategicMTPDdeployments,willbeanecessary
componentoftheprogram.

FUNDINGIMPACT:

FundingforthepilotprogramwasincludedintheFY17budget.
ProjectManager: JosephLeader
Project
ChiefOperatingOfficer
Department/Office:

TIMELINE:

May2017FairSharepilotbeginsatFortTottenand
PreviousActions
GalleryPlaceMetrorailstations
Anticipatedactions Summer/Fall2017FairShareprogramimplementedat
afterpresentation additionalMetrorailstations

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Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Fair Share Pilot

Customer Service, Operations and Security Committee

June 8, 2017

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 How fare evasion impacts Metro

Fare evasion is a multi-dimensional problem:

Greatest cause of conflicts between customers &
employees
Creates fairness issues among customers
Results in revenue loss
Reduces farebox ridership counts, impacting funding
formulas
Linked to more serious crimes

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 Key actions to date

All customers tap: SmarTrip cards issued to replace flash passes for
MetroAccess customers and students

Reinforce requirement for all employees to tap badges

Addressing employee assaults triggered by fare disputes:

Transit Police doubled written enforcement actions
Training and outreach, bus operator shields, and bus CCTV video
monitor pilot

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 Fair Share Pilot

Began May 1 at Fort Totten and Gallery

Place Stations

Pilot includes:
New emergency exit signage on swing
gates
Gate stops and electronic securing
mechanisms
Police enforcement efforts
Internal and external communications
Considers Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) and safety in emergencies
Assess effectiveness in changing customer
behavior, reducing fare evasion

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 Swing Gate Pilot Configurations

Gate Stop Configuration Secured Configuration

Unsecured with gate stop to Magnetically secured with push-
open only in direction of exit to-open bar, alarm, and card
swipe

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Fair Share Pilot Preliminary Results

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 Fair Share Pilot Preliminary Results

In sample measurements, the pilot reduced fare evasion

through the secured swing gate at Fort Totten by more
than 90%
The secured gate configurations were found to be most
effective, along with increased MTPD presence
Station managers were generally supportive of Fair Share
pilot
Customers overwhelmingly support efforts to reduce fare
evasion & increase revenue collection

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 Next Steps

Implement the Fair Share program at additional stations

Identify solutions for other fare evasion station areas (e.g.,
unattended elevators)
Continue MTPD enforcement efforts
Estimate level of rail system fare evasion
Continue promoting fare products, passes, and online
loading options to customers

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