It didn't take long.
An enraged New York City stranger showed little interest in newly installed spikes to deter fare evasion on Thursday night, jumping over a subway turnstile and quickly outmaneuvering the MTA. there was.
The unidentified subway passenger effortlessly jumped over a metal gate at the 59th Street/Lexington Avenue station less than 36 hours after it was posted, a Post photographer said.
Between each ticket gate entrance at the station was a metal sheet with sharp edges on the top and sides.
The man was caught off guard by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's latest enforcement effort, but it didn't stop him from exploiting the agency's design flaws.
“Oh, so I have to jump over it? Okay, I don't do AF-K, I jump over it,” the Post's cameraman heard the man say.
The careless commuter, wearing a sweatshirt emphasizing the animated show “Rick and Morty,” placed his left foot on the ridge below the gate and pushed himself up with his right hand.
The man placed his left hand on a metal spike, jumped over the turnstile pole, passed through the turnstile, and walked freely to the train without anyone stopping him.
The MTA, which installed the new equipment Wednesday at stations bordering Midtown and the Upper East Side, did not disclose the cost of the sharp metal sheets.
It was unclear whether similar equipment would be installed at other subway stations.
Several commuters who frequent the station, which serves lines N, R, W, 4, 5 and 6, were not thrilled with the new gate feature.
“I don't think this will stop anyone from jumping over the turnstiles,” Veronica Pisani, 40, told the Post on Wednesday.
Pisani, a building manager in the Fordham section of the Bronx, called the hardware “ridiculous and stupid” and a waste of money.
“We see fare evasion all the time. People will find a way. But I don't think this is really the case. [an effective] It’s a precautionary measure,” she said.
Fare evasion costs the MTA about $500 million a year. Transportation giants have been trying for years to recoup lost revenue.
This is not the first time fare evasion tactics have been defeated.
In 2023, the MTA installed expensive new gates designed to deter fare evaders, but a simple hack revealed the $700,000 electronic panel door could be breached on TikTok.
Last December, the MTA approved raising fares to $3, 10 cents more than the current $2.90, as it spent about $1.3 billion on 435 new subway cars.
“This is a good deal,” MTA Chairman and CEO Jano Lieber said after approving a budget that projects a 4% increase in fares by the second half of 2025. spoke.
