Fare evasion has been one of the MTA’s biggest concerns. It is estimated to have cost the MTA roughly 700 million dollars every year. As a result, the MTA has been combatting this issue by installing metal dividers between turnstiles with spikes on top of them at the Lexington Avenue 59th St station.
These spikes are a direct response to one of the ways that New Yorkers avoid paying the fare. They hold onto the gates’ handrails as they jump over the turnstile, except now they will be prevented because of the protruding spikes.
Using the infrastructure of a place to actively deter an issue is referred to as “hostile architecture.” This can range from installing spikes, removing or making it difficult to sit on a public bench, or installing fences near closed-off areas to make it harder for the public to do things elected officials do not want them to do.
The subway is not new to the use of hostile architecture as it has been used before. Many benches on platforms have been constructed with armrests in the middle to prevent anyone from sleeping on them and staying there. Some stations have removed benches altogether and replaced them with leaning bars, forcing passengers to stand. The use of these building techniques can be highly controversial, as many claim it needlessly discriminates against people with disabilities and older people while curbing the number of homeless people in the subway.
The spikes on the turnstile are not the MTA’s first attempt at trying to get people to pay the fare. They’ve installed surveillance cameras, new gates, and positioned police officers waiting to catch evaders, but it seems that none of it has been working, as people have continued to avoid the fare. It is unknown whether or not the MTA will be rolling out more of these spikes to more stations, but this trend of hostile architecture will likely only continue.
