Trying out fare gates in Edmonton’s LRT system is officially off the table — for now.
After debating the details of a pilot project to put turnstiles in the Churchill and Belvedere LRT stations, city council officially set it aside this week. Running it for two years would have cost $7.2 million, with the expense of installing the gates, plus new round-the-clock shifts for attendants to make sure people without an Arc card can still get to the train.
It was Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell’s motion last year that prompted the work, saying he wanted to look at all the possible tools the city might use to address crime and disorder in the city’s public transit system.
On Thursday, he said fare gates just aren’t technically feasible right now.
“We still accept cash in our transit system, which gives you a paper transfer, and that paper transfer doesn’t open the gate,” he said.
“So then you need an attendant at the gate at the same time as you have a gate, and the whole operating philosophy falls down.”
City officials said fare gates can contribute to reducing fare evasion, and they might also help boost perceptions of safety on transit — but that doesn’t mean they result in an actual reduction of crime and disorder.
Council instead voted to look into reallocating money for security guards in the transit system to instead increase peace officer patrols. They also approved a motion to explore the possibility of asking the province to grant those officers additional authorities to deal with some criminal offences and warrants on their own.
Working in partners, members of Edmonton’s Community Outreach Transit Team (COTT) patrol the city’s LRTs, buses and stations to help those in need.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said it’s clear that fare gates won’t be effective on Edmonton’s open fare transit system.
“We have social workers and transit peace officers and police officers working together doing the enforcement, and also connecting vulnerable populations to services,” he said.
“That model is working … And if opportunity arises in the future that more resources become available, that is where I would like to put resources.”
Council will revisit the transit discussion during this year’s budget talks.
Cartmell said it might still be worth revisiting fare gates later if Edmontonians don’t report an improvement in transit safety, and more comfort using it.