Mark Brader wrote:
Tom Cordiner and I (Mark Brader) wrote:

So my question is, is the MTA putting its passengers in danger, or
are the gates of the NYC system very different from London's...?


Sure. New York is a flat-fare system with the fare charged on entry, so
the exit gates don't need to be capable of stopping people from leaving.



So all those staff are there just to let people out when (as I
acknowledge it frequently does) one's ticket stops working?


You didn't ask about staffing *levels*, and I'm not commenting on
that. You asked why there have to be any staff, and the reason is
to let people out in case their ticket stops working *or* in case
the station has to be evacuated and there isn't time for tickets
to be checked.

Not quite, I asked why people bleat "health and safety" when justifying
gateline staff; I am perfectly willing to accept *other* reasons for the
staff being there (but those are policy not legal health and safety
requirements). I have no agenda other than being genuinely curious as to
what the health and safety reasons are.

There's been an exponential rise in "health and safety" as a blanket
reason for anything and everything in the UK in recent years (humorous
examples such as the cheese rolling tradition being banned come to mind)
but I am trying to understand what the real issue is and, other than the
flat fare which I accept is a big difference, how NYC manages to operate
a subway safely without the gateline staff.