Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — New fare gates were installed at South Station two weeks ago, and Bostonians are feeling mixed about them.
According to the MBTA, the new gate system gets rid of platform ticket checks, improves fare collection, and makes fare-paying more consistent.
However, some riders say the new system is slowing down their trip. "It used to be that you can speed right out, now you can see a backup of people waiting,” one woman at South Station said.
A major complaint has been the fact that the ticket scanners have not been consistent in reading the riders’ passes, which means even more line hold-ups.
“I think I’ve only been able to scan in correctly twice the past two weeks,” she said. “Sometimes they just have to push me through because it’s just not working; it’s not great because everyone is waiting behind you.”
These growing pains have led to a myriad of unsatisfied customers.
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“People get used to it and the long lines will disappear, but the glitches, I don’t know, that was poor planning,” another woman said.
“You gotta stop and take an extra minute, two minutes to try to get through the gate,” one man said.
“It takes extra minutes to get in and get out, it’s horrible,” another commuter said.
Not everyone has been experiencing these issues though, as some have been a lot luckier on their own commutes.
“It’s actually not that bad; it takes a moment to kind of get used to,” someone said.
“I haven’t had any problems with that, I have the paper pass, and I just tap and I haven’t had a problem with that yet.”
The fare gates have already been installed at North Station, and the gates are set to be installed at Ruggles and Back Bay later this year, so many hope that these issues will be ironed out once everything is fully operational.
WBZ NewsRadio reached out to Keolis, the company who installed these new fare gates. They responded with this statement:
“The rollout of Commuter Rail fare gates at South Station continues to move forward. Similar to the successful introduction of the gates at North Station in 2022, staff are on site every day calibrating the technology, ensuring that gates are functioning properly, and assisting passengers. Occasionally, a small queue will form at the gates, but we anticipate improved flow as passengers become familiar with the gates and once all 40 gates are fully operational. Overall, the introduction of the gates has progressed as expected and most passengers are passing through quickly with no issues.”
More information on the new fare gates can be found here.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojas.bsky.social) reports.