These MARTA stations will have new faregates by the first World Cup match

When several of MARTA’s new glass faregates shattered within days of going into service, riders asked: Did anyone test these things?

MARTA officials say yes. They put them through the wringer, tasking a MARTA police officer to charge at the glass and kick it. Nothing shattered, nothing broke, in video of the testing provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by MARTA.

But then they changed the design.

Rhonda Allen, MARTA’s deputy general manager, said the agency’s intention was good: There was concern that the glass was so clear the gates wouldn’t be visible to riders with vision impairments.

That’s when the design changed from one single half-inch panel to two quarter-inch-thick pieces placed back-to-back, with a piece of film in the middle to increase visibility, Allen told MARTA’s Board of Directors on Thursday.

Now, after seeing how the two-paned glass panels have fared in actual operations, the agency is going back to the first plan. In the first few weeks of use, MARTA officials said several have shattered when people tried to squeeze through.

“We should have stuck with our original design,” Allen said.

Allen gave board members updates on the faregate installation, part of a larger effort by the transit agency to modernize its fare collection system — an upgrade that will give riders tap-to-pay abilities and replace the often-broken old paddle gates. Installation began in September.

The plan was to have new faregates installed by May, but officials said this week that construction will continue after the FIFA World Cup. They’re now aiming to wrap up the project by September.

“We are not where we would like to be,” Allen said.

Every unfinished gate makes it harder for the agency to collect revenue at a time when ridership is expected to surge because of the World Cup, with games beginning Monday in Atlanta. Unfinished gates also make it harder for police to prevent fare evasion, which federal officials are investigating after several recent violent crimes on the system.

MARTA has experienced delays getting granite for the gates from its fabricator, and in the last couple of weeks, water intrusion delayed installation, Allen said.

By Monday, construction will be complete at half of MARTA’s 38 stations, including most of those downtown that are expected to see higher ridership. Installation was prioritized at stations expected to see the highest World Cup ridership in order to minimize potential lost fare revenue.

Every station but one will have ticket vending machines for riders to buy new fare cards. Riders need new Breeze cards to pay at stations where the new faregates are installed, or they can use a bank card or their phone and tap to pay. The old Breeze cards no longer work, but passengers can transfer their fare balances online.

Where gate construction is not complete, entrances and emergency exits are open for riders to walk through.