Metro’s 'tap to exit' program expands to Downtown Santa Monica

Metro workers and security guards were on hand Tuesday at the Downtown Santa Monica station, alerting people at the end of the Expo Line that they had to tap their cards to leave.

The tap-to-exit program started earlier this year at the North Hollywood Station to help curb crime and other problems on Metro buses and trains.

Metro's Carlos Rico tells KNX News' Karen Adams that the program has been effective so far. "Over the last 90 days in North Hollywood, we saw a 90% reduction in loitering, a 12% decrease in crime, and a significant decrease in fare evasion, so we're looking to replicate that in Santa Monica and see similar results."

Officials say many of the recent crimes committed on the Metro system were caused by people who did not pay to ride , and Rico says the new program aims to deter would-be fare evaders.

"We want to ensure that the people that come on the system are paying their fare and... are coming on the system for its intended purpose," Rico said.

In addition to the tap-to-exit program, Rico said there had been an increase in uniformed personnel throughout the Metro system over the last three months.

"In those three months, we've seen a 12% decrease in crime with that additional presence," he said.

Metro plans to expand the program at all of its stations and implement other security measures to keep riders safe, including a weapons detection system that could be deployed as early as the end of the month.

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