Sound Transit considers fare gate pilot

Fare gates with ORCA card readers at the pedestrian boarding areas at the Seattle Ferry Terminal. Washington State Ferries and the Seattle Center Monorail are the only ORCA-supported agencies which use fare gates. Photo by Michael Smith.

In its last meeting in 2025, the Sound Transit Board's Executive Committee will officially direct agency staff to conduct a fare gate retrofit implementation study" and if study findings support further action, develop a fare gate retrofit pilot proposal". In September, The Urbanist reported fare gates were one of many options under consideration as part of the agency's Enterprise initiative. In October, King 5 reported Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine had already directed staff to begin assembling a proposal for a fare gate pilot program. The Sound Transit Board's Motion No. M2025-64 formalizes the work, and sets a due date for the study and associated pilot program proposal of no later than Q2 2026".

In 2023, The Urbanist reported Sound Transit had commissioned a study of fare gates from consultant Cambridge Systematics. The consultant estimated costs for a pilot project retrofitting the five highest-ridership stations at the time would cost approximately $34 million and would pay for itself in two years with increased fare recovery. However, real costs to install fare gates are likely to be much higher.

Fare gates have long been a source of contention in the transit community. They can pose barriers to accessibility, be expensive to build and maintain, and aren't totally effective at stopping fare evasion. On the other hand, the Proof of Payment" system familiar to Link riders (spot-checks by fare enforcers) is typically much less expensive to implement and can be similarly effective. From the opening of Central Link in 2006 to 2019, Sound Transit reported fare compliance rates on Link were typically more than 97%. However, after fare collection was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, fare compliance rates dropped significantly and have not recovered. Sound Transit has been ramping up its Fare Ambassador program, but as the Link system extends out into Seattle's suburbs, the agency will need to hire more and more Ambassadors to maintain the same degree of enforcement.

Assuming the Sound Transit's study finds fare gate could be worthwhile, the Board expects staff to be ready to begin implementing its pilot program by late 2026.