Turnstiles Might Bring an End to Unusual Red Line Honor System

The quirky honor system on Los Angeles’ subway might be nearing the end of the line--not because of scofflaws, but to free up police to thwart other crimes and terrorism, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority says.

Under a plan expected to be presented to the MTA’s board on July 18, turnstiles would go up at Red Line stations from downtown L.A. to North Hollywood, ending a 9-year-old system that trusted subway riders to purchase tickets or risk being fined $250 by police.

It’s not that riders are dishonest, the MTA says. Passengers boarded Red Line trains more than 37 million times in the last 12 months, and an estimated 95% of them paid their way. But rather than pay Los Angeles police and county sheriff’s deputies to check for cheaters, the MTA wants to hire about 130 civilians to take over that job and assist riders.

Armed, uniformed officers would continue to roam stations along MTA’s subway and above-ground rail lines, but there would be fewer of them.

“You do not need a law enforcement officer to ask someone if you paid your fare,” MTA Deputy Chief Executive John Catoe told the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday.

Worried about the potential cutbacks of police, council members unanimously passed a resolution to express their concern to the MTA’s board, which would have to approve any new security plan.

“When you have a uniformed officer, the presence alone is a deterrent” to fare cheaters and other criminals, said Councilman Ed Reyes. “Why we would take that away, I don’t understand.”

The MTA says it is taking nothing away. Instead, Catoe said, it is changing “the mix” of its $60-million security budget, freeing up more police to fight crime in other areas of the city while maintaining strong security on the subway.

“The MTA provides transportation to almost 400 million customers a year,” Catoe said, “and, statistically, it is the safest place to be in the county of Los Angeles.”

When the Red Line’s first stop opened in 1993, the route’s novel honor system attracted publicity and ridership.

The honor system will remain on MTA’s Blue Line, which runs from downtown L.A. to Long Beach, and on the Green Line, which runs from Norwalk to Redondo Beach. Likewise, the Gold Line from L.A. to Pasadena is scheduled to open next July without turnstiles.