NYMTA Announces Wide-Aisle Fare Gates and New Customer Service Center
12/6/2023
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has announced its first-ever low turnstile fare array replacement with new wide-aisle fare gates at Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport Station in Jamaica, Queens. The installation of modern fare gate technology reflects the MTA’s commitment to reimagining fare arrays in the subway system, enhancing accessibility and improving the station environment.
The new faregates replace the emergency exit gate at that end of the station, which was a major contributor to subway fare evasion. The wide-aisle design of the new faregates allows customers with strollers, wheelchairs, and luggage to smoothly enter the system. This will allow the MTA to examine the feasibility of placing new fare gates at other stations in the future.
MTA also announced the opening of a new customer service center, making this station the fourteenth center in the subway system. Customer service centers comprise repurposed booths, new retail outlets and feature enhanced accessibility, and OMNY technology. This includes new lighting, branded wrapping, and canopies with enhanced customer service functions such as station agents on hand to assist in converting riders to OMNY, signing up for Reduced-Fare, and helping troubleshoot general concerns.
“New York City Transit’s North Star is improving the customer experience, and we are doing just that at Sutphin Blvd by introducing new, easier to access fare gates and by opening our 14th customer service center,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey. “Customers traveling to and from JFK with their luggage, commuters transferring from the LIRR at Jamaica, and local commuters can look forward to faster, more accessible journeys, and a more welcoming station environment.”
“It’s exciting to see the first full fare array of wide aisle gates in our system, another step in our efforts to make our stations more accessible for all riders including those with mobility devices, strollers, and luggage,” said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer and Senior Advisor Quemuel Arroyo. “These gates also help combat fare evasion, not just making it harder to skip the fare but easier for customers who want to do the right thing to pay their fare, easily and seamlessly.”