Do Honor Systems on Mass Transit Work Better in Smaller Cities?

Later this month, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is expected to vote on whether to make sure people are paying to ride its growing network of light rail and subway lines. Technically, Metro charges riders a regular fare of $1.50 for each trip on the rails, but without turnstiles at most stations, the rail system relies on an honor system that expects passengers pay for a ticket that pretty much no one will ever ask to see, or risk a $250 fine.

It's a question that's come up several times since Metro's modern-day rail system began rolling on and under L.A.'s streets in the early 1990s. Most recently, Metro completed installation of turnstiles in a handful of the underground stations on its Red Line subway about a year ago – a trial intended both to test out the utility of the security barriers and capture some data on the ticket revenue currently being lost to free riders. More than 300 fare gates have been added to select rail stations along various lines of the growing system, according to Metro spokesperson Rick Jager.