Riders now swipe their cards only at Tompkinsville and St. George, while the train is free for trips between other stations along the line. STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE FILE PHOTO
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Next stop: Paying to ride the Staten Island Railway no matter where you get on or off.
The MTA plans to restore fare collection along the entire 14-mile rail line from St. George to Tottenville within the next few years, as part of a master plan to raise more revenue, cut down on crime and close what has been a free-ride perk that is unique in the city's public transit system.
Turnstiles recently installed at the Tompkinsville station are the first part of the plan, which eventually will incorporate "Smart Card" technology to collect fares along the rest of the line.
Riders now swipe their cards only at Tompkinsville and St. George, while the train is free for trips beginning and ending at any other stations along the line. Make the 37-minute trip between Stapleton and Tottenville, for instance, and pay not a cent.
When the new system goes online, which, owing to the MTA's budget crisis, is still at least a few years away, passengers will no longer use MetroCards but rather pay with a "Smart Card," likely a "tap and go" system, where a card is held up to a reader without the need to slow down to swipe.
The system would include a way for inspectors to check for proof that the fare was paid, and scofflaws likely would face a steep fine if caught.
If you didn't pay and there were a spot check, "you'd have a problem," said MTA board member Allen Cappelli.
St. George and Tompkinsville will remain the only stations with gates and turnstiles, though the MTA is considering possibly installing turnstiles at Grasmere as well, as it is a heavily used transfer point for the S53 bus to and from Brooklyn. Those three stations are among the most used along the line, and having the turnstiles would mean fare inspectors could focus their attentions on other stations without gates.
St. George and Tompkinsville will remain the only stations with gates and turnstiles, but riders will have to pay at any exit point along the 14-mile Staten Island Railway line. STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE FILE PHOTOThe Railway lost about $3.4 million a year when onboard fare collectors were eliminated in 1997. Fares were collected only at St. George until this January, when a $6.9 million stationhouse opened at Tompkinsville. The Tompkinsville station alone is expected to collect about $702,000 a year in fares, but a projection of how much revenue the entire Railway could expect to earn with the new system in place was not immediately known.
While "there are people who clearly enjoy this unintended benefit" of a free ride, "everybody pays to go on the system everywhere else," said Cappelli, who is among a growing contingent pushing the MTA to bring back the fare for considerations of safety.
City Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) said he has believed for years that "there is a direct correlation between the elimination of the fare on the Staten Island Railway and a spike in vandalism and crime on the trains and abutting communities."
"I don't think in the long run it's been worth the quote-unquote break," he said.
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