Costly turnstiles at L.A. County subway stations sit unused

A $154-million system of locking turnstiles installed at L.A. County's subways and light rail stations may be turning into a financial boondoggle, according to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News.

At least a third of the money spent on the system may have been wasted because the turnstiles cannot be locked until the Metropolitan Transit Authority fully converts to an electronic transit pass system, the newspaper reports.

But a lot of riders are still using paper tickets, and many other transit systems, such as municipal bus services, have been slow to adopt the electronic cards.

The turnstiles were installed to stop fare scofflaws and end the honor-based system. The new system was predicted to save $13 million a year in lost revenue and reduced inspector costs. The turnstiles were Installed under a $46-million contract.