Metal detectors. Taller gates to prevent fare jumpers. Ten more rail stations requiring that riders “tap to exit” to prove they’ve paid their fare.
These are some of the new technological safety barriers approved by the 13-member LA Metro board on Thursday, July 25, in an effort to reduce crime on the county’s vast system of trains and buses by controlling access and scanning potential riders for knives, guns or other weapons.
“It sends a clear message to our riders and employees we are serious about their safety and we are intent on righting the ship,” said Fifth District LA County Supervisor and Metro board member Kathryn Barger, who led the effort.
Many of the new screening technologies will be tried out at various rail stations for at least a month, then evaluated by looking at complaints and actual crime statistics, said Robert Gummer, deputy chief of Metro’s System Security & Law Enforcement. Some would be permanent changes to the rail infrastructure to prevent non-paying riders from jumping past turnstiles.
The board approved other safety-related measures including an expansion of a program that keeps rail station elevator doors open so people can’t hide inside and use the elevators for criminal activities. The board also approved expanding a smart toilet pilot program from 10 locations to 64 stations for the next four years.
The new programs will cost about $65.1 million, Metro reported.
One of the most dramatic changes involves the use of metal detectors. If these systems become permanent, rail passengers will have to pass through archways containing scanners before getting on a train, similar to those used at airports, concert venues and sports stadiums.
One system uses Millimeter Wave Technology in which high-frequency radio waves are bounced off the body to detect concealed objects. The technology sends digital images to security personnel in real-time. A similar method, the dual lane system, uses advanced sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect weapons and other threats as people walk through, according to a Metro report.
These systems will be tested first at Downtown L.A.’s Union Station, a busy train and bus hub, and the systems should be in place by September, Gummer said. The second testing site will be at the not-yet-completed LAX Metro Transit Center station, which would come online in November.
Similar weapon detection systems are not yet available for buses, mostly due to the lack of bandwidth, Gummer said.
“We are moving forward with concrete actions to make our system more secure, like expanding the successful Tap-To-Exit pilot program, new strategies to keep our elevators safe, and testing technology to detect people carrying weapons,” said Fourth District LA County Supervisor and new LA Metro board chair Janice Hahn. “You can’t take a weapon into Dodger Stadium, and you shouldn’t be able to take weapons on Metro either.”
Inglewood Mayor and Metro board member James Butts helped Metro staffers learn more about weapon-scanning systems by giving them a tour of how they work at Inglewood sporting stadiums. He has pushed Metro staff to implement these systems since a rash of violence on the system began in early spring, including two unprovoked murders of passengers.
Butts believes that aside from actually scanning for weapons at certain locations, these systems can have a deterrent effect, too. “These systems say to people, ‘Don’t bring weapons on Metro.’ This is a big priority,” he said.
Controlling access to who can ride on the system is a common theme in the approved measures.
At 10 end-of-line rail stations, Metro will install fare gate exits that won’t open unless the rider touches his TAP card to the mechanical reader at the exit. A pilot Tap-To-Exit program has been in place at the North Hollywood B (Red) Line station since May 28 and has stopped 25,000 riders from riding without paying, Metro reported.
The increase in paid rides on the entire B Line increased by 30% in the past two months, equaling about $100,000 in fare revenue. A Metro survey found that 91% of riders felt the station was cleaner and 86% said it was safer.
The Metro Tap-To-Exit program can keep people off the system who are mentally ill, and the unhoused who ride for shelter or to get high. Many board members were concerned that unhoused riders would be left to wander the streets at end of line stations in Santa Monica, Long Beach, Azusa, North Hollywood and other locations.
Metro staff says it will position its homeless outreach teams at those locations once the program is expanded. The end of the E (Expo) Line in Santa Monica will be the first to add a tap-to-exit system, which is expected in August, Metro reported.
Several Metro Transit Security officers stand at the entrance turnstile of the A Line Lake Station in Pasadena, stopping those who do not TAP and pay their fare as seen on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (photo by Steve Scauzillo, SCNG).
Barger wanted to see Tap-To-Exit used at the Lake Station at Lake Avenue in the center of the 210 Freeway, where she said the city of Pasadena and her office have documented numerous problems with fare-evaders and those doing illicit behavior.
Taller fare gates will debut at three rail stations. The future LAX/Metro Transit Center will be the first, but the two other locations have not been identified. Some that are being considered are 7th and Metro, Union Station and Universal City/Studio City, Metro reported.
The ACLU of Southern California opposed requiring people to tap to exit at stations, taller fare gates and weapon scanners, calling the measures invasions of privacy and illegal assaults on civil rights.
Groups representing low-income and immigrant riders said that better ways to reduce crime are to add improved lighting to stations and to have escalators and elevators that work all the time to ward off loitering.
“Every one of these (measures) has a severe civil rights issue,” said Eric Mann of the Bus Riders Union, a nonprofit group advocating for better treatment of Black and Latino bus riders. Others in the group said the burden of paying-to-exit stations fall mostly on low-income riders.
Third District L.A. County Supervisor and Metro board member Lindsey Horvath wanted Metro to explore having the bathrooms cleaned by in-house janitors. That will be studied by Metro.
But meanwhile the board approved a contract extension with Throne Labs, a portable bathroom company based in Washington D.C. The free bathrooms are accessible by scanning a QR code with a smartphone. The facility can be opened by texting the number on the unit from a flip phone; a return text is received with a code that can be put into the unit to unlock the door.
Once the door opens, users have 10 minutes to do their business before the door pops open. Throne also has an app for finding locations and for access.
Some objected to the smart toilets, saying Metro should build permanent bathrooms that don’t require a cell phone to use. Throne restrooms placed at certain stations have been used 66,000 times since the pilot program began in October 2023, Metro reported.
Related Articles
Southern California receives $500 million to slash freight emissions
Inglewood’s $2 billion people mover loses funding in U.S. House budget
Buttigieg in East LA touts new pedestrian crossing, highlights infrastructure efforts
L.A. airport commission sets a date to complete LAX People Mover
Board picks potential firm to build Pomona-to-Montclair light rail extension
Related links
Debate at LA Metro board: Tap-to-exit stations, enforcing fares, weapon detectors
LA Metro beefing up police patrols, ‘hardening’ stations to stop rise in violence
Metro will keep removing homeless when trains get cleaned but will explore solutions
Portable toilets, first ever at 4 LA Metro stations, provide relief for thousands, agency says
Metro’s ridership levels in June are still on an upward trend