JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after a Channel 4 investigation revealed turnstile gates at Jacksonville Transportation Authority Skyway terminals have been allowing passengers to pass through without paying the 50-cent fare, JTA says it is in the process of fixing many of the problems with the transportation system.
JTA said it had kept one turnstile free for those who transferred to the Skyway from buses so they wouldn't have to pay twice, but others were taking advantage of that and not paying at all.
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And at the Kings Avenue station, the entrance for those with disabilities was always open, so anyone could avoid the turnstile gates and walk through that one.
JTA says it's planning on making changes, but as of Wednesday, they were still working on them. In fact, an announcement was made over the loudspeakers at one station Wednesday morning letting passengers know that they have to pay the fares despite the non-functioning turnstile gates.
That announcement had not been made in the last two weeks.
JTA is now watching for people on security cameras, telling those who don't pay to go back and do it.
At the Hemming Plaza station, one man was seen squeezing through the gate while another man tried to pay. But over the loudspeakers this announcement was made: "Excuse me, sir in the white shirt, you need to go back down and purchase a ride."
The announcement was made several times, and eventually the man came back out.
Turnstile gates that were broken and jammed up were fixed Wednesday, and those that could not be repaired were covered up so people who did try to pay for them wouldn't lose money.
Change machines that did not work previously were also working Wednesday.
The gates that do allow anyone to pass through still were not locking, and one security guard on the intercom explained why.
"They break it. We will fix. They will break and we have to continue to repair it," the security guard said.
JTA says it is working to make repairs and maybe come up with a different system for the turnstile gates.
