New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has installed spikes at subway stations to stop turnstile jumpers—and they don’t seem to be working, the New York Post reports.
An unidentified subway rider wasn’t fazed by the visible spikes at the 59th Street/Lexington Avenue station, jumping right over them. Sporting a Rick and Morty sweatshirt, he carefully placed his left hand on the metal spikes to jump over the turnstile pole just in time to walk onto the train approaching the station.
No one stopped him.
“Oh, so now I gotta jump over it? OK, I don’t give a f–k, I’ll jump over it,” the man was overheard saying.
Train riders were seen going to their old tricks to avoid paying a fare for the subway. One man pushed right through the turnstiles.
NEW: “SPIKES” installed at turnstiles on 59th Street Subway station in Manhattan, in an attempt to deter fair evaders.
Fare evaders are still able to go through.
Video by Ken Lopez @FreedomNTV [email protected] to license pic.twitter.com/Hu8cmZMJpn
— Oliya Scootercaster
(@ScooterCasterNY) January 16, 2025
The MTA thought the move would help crack down on riders avoiding paying a fare, according to Fox News 5. The metal sheet with sharp edges was placed on both the top and sides of the turnstiles between each gate entrance at the station. Fare evasion costs the MTA a pretty penny—close to $500 million each year. This effort isn’t the agency’s first time trying to combat the problem.
In 2023, new electric gates installed were thought to do the trick. But after a TikToker went viral for revealing how easy it was for the doors to be activated with a simple swipe of a hand over the exit sensor, authorities had to revisit the plan.
Turnstile jumpers were not the only ones unimpressed with the spikes. “I don’t think it’s going to prevent anyone from jumping the turnstiles,” rider Veronica Pisani said. “I see fare evasion all the time. People will find a way. I just don’t really think this is [an effective] preventative measure.”
The spikes are part of a plan handed down by Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase subway safety amid a rise in crime. During her State of the State address on Jan. 14, Hochul said, “The MTA will be installing even more barriers in 100 additional stations” in addition to an increase of LED lighting to every station by the end of 2025 as a way to stop the “shameless toll evaders, fare evaders.”
She also announced a partnership with the New York City Police Department to heighten its presence on every subway platform and train for the next six months of 2025, plus the National Guard.
Hochul’s office announced close to 750 officers will be placed throughout the city on top of 300 that will be seen on the train cars themselves. The governor visited the subway stations. “Fighting for your family means making sure you can feel safe on the subway,” she said on X.
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