Inside the lab engineering SEPTA's fare evasion crackdown

Дата публикации: 23-09-2026 18:24:24

Inside SEPTA’s fare gate testing lab, engineers are working on technology the transit agency says is helping reduce fare evasion at stations across Philadelphia.
The lab has taken on renewed importance as SEPTA cracks down on riders who don’t pay and responds to concerns from lawmakers in Harrisburg over fare evasion and the agency’s operations.
“The lab helps with testing, making sure it’s actually ready to be in the field and do exactly what you needed to do,” Laurie St. Ange, SEPTA’s senior director of revenue, maintenance, equipment and engineering, said.
The work ranges from testing Regional Rail validators to modifying turnstiles, including those modified at two stations earlier this summer.
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A major focus is SEPTA’s new 3D fare gates. The gates cost $40,000 each and are operating at 10 stations, with 13 more stations expected to receive them next year.
“We’ll be tweaking some of those settings regarding the doors, the speed of the doors and how hard it is to actually push through the doors,” St. Ange said.
One issue engineers are working to address is “tailgating,” when one person pays to enter a station and another person who hasn’t paid follows behind. Engineers are testing the gates to find a balance between how quickly the doors operate and passenger safety.
“One misconception is that we’ve essentially introduced a different way for people to fare evade,” St. Ange said. “But one of the things about these gates is that it, it does reduce fare evasion, as you see in the numbers.”
SEPTA data shows fare evasion rates declined after the gates were installed. At Somerset, the rate fell from 79% to 52%, while at City Hall it dropped from 46% to 12%. At 69th Street, the first station to receive the gates, SEPTA reported a 15-point reduction.
SEPTA provided the following data on the effectiveness of 3D gates against fare evasion.
The results could also play a role in SEPTA’s efforts to secure future funding. Lawmakers in Harrisburg have asked the agency to address fare evasion.
SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer told NBC10’s Lauren Mayk on Tuesday that lawmakers have also raised concerns about the agency’s broader operations.
“We knew about our fare evasion, and we knew about our funding issues,” Sauer said.
“The message I’ve heard resoundingly from lawmakers in Harrisbug is, ‘Scott, you guys got to get your operations together, make sure that it’s safe and it’s clean and that you’re focused on the right things. And I believe we have done that,’” Sauer said.
SEPTA Transit Police told NBC10 in the summer they wrote 9,000 citations last year, which can include a fine of up to $300.
SEPTA also told the NBC10 Investigators that small violations can quickly become bigger problems.
“Is it worth really going after someone who fare evades a couple bucks?” NBC10’s David Charns asked SEPTA Deputy Chief of Police Jim Zuggi.
“Well yeah, a couple bucks… it grows,” Zuggi said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.

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