Bi-State Development, which runs public transit in the St. Louis region, is in the midst of an ambitious plan to secure MetroLink platforms. Eight-foot-high gates now safeguard four stops in the Metro East and are under construction at seven more in the city of St. Louis.
But transit users won’t be getting through by swiping their fare cards any time soon. Even though the gates are going up now, Bi-State’s new fare collection system won’t be operational until January of 2026. At gated MetroLink stations, a security guard instead now swipes in each rider—a system that will also be the case for stations in the city as they become operational, says Melissa Webb, Bi-State’s director of security media and customer engagement.
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It may look jury-rigged, but Webb says the round-the-clock staffers have always been the plan and the 16-month staffing cost is built into the budget. She portrays it as part of Bi-State’s education and community outreach plan, with staffers helping people adjust to the new gated platforms and providing a feeling of security.
“People have said, ‘I don’t feel safe. I’m just by myself out there,’” she says. “Having that transit security team member there, that feeling starts to leave. They’re providing a one-on-one experience, giving individuals a way to feel safe.”
Bi-State has divided its MetroLink security project into three “packages,” viewable online. Security gates for Package 1—half of its Metro East stations—are now operational (albeit with a little help from swiping employees). In Package 2, which includes seven stations from the Civic Center to the Delmar Loop, security gates are currently under construction. They should be up and running before year’s end.
After that, Bi-State plans to tackle stations in downtown St. Louis and in St. Louis County, which Webb says are now in their final design phases and soon going out to bid.
The new ticket validators (which will also be used on MetroBus) will cost $2.8 million, while ticket vending machines cost $10.8 million. The security gates, a separate initiative run by a separate division of Bi-State, have been budgeted at $52 million.
Previously, Bi-State relied on the honor system, with occasional spot checks.
Why It Matters: Some frequent transit users are unhappy with MetroLink’s new gated system, saying the money would be better spent subsidizing more riders. The two-tiered rollout has also come into its share of criticism. One recently posted a video of his experience being swiped into a Metro East station, writing, “Absolute insanity.”
Others have questioned how the gated/guard-dependent system can possibly keep up with the city’s higher volume stations, such as the one in the Central West End.
What’s Next: Webb stresses that the system is flexible. If a station is expected to see high volume—say, after a sports game—she says they can open the gates and let people pass through freely. “We can make adjustments.” In time, she thinks passengers will be happy with the changes.
