Metro began installing taller faregates in stations across the District Monday in an effort to reduce fare evasion.

Metro installed 55-inch high gates at the Fort Totten station in Northeast Monday, with plans to add the new gates to 10 stations by early fall and upgrade all stations within the next year, the transit organization stated in a release. Metro said fare evasion costs the agency roughly $40 million per year, claiming about 13 percent of riders did not pay for their trips in 2023.

The new faregates are about 27 inches taller than the current gates and are made of a strong plastic that will aim to prevent people from pushing through. Metro said they will install new gates at the Pentagon City stop next.

Metro CEO Randy Clarke said the agency expects the higher gates will be more of a “deterrent” to gate hopping after the agency tested different prototypes over the past few months before settling on the current design.

“The bottom line is fare evasion is not okay, and we will continue our efforts to ensure everyone is respecting the community’s system and each other,” Clarke said in the release.

Metro is also working to raise the height of fencing and emergency gates, the release states. The project is estimated to cost Metro between $35 to $40 million and will take about 15 months to complete.

In November, Metro also began increasing police presence at stations and issuing fare evasion tickets, fining violators $50 in D.C. and $100 in Maryland and Virginia.

Metro also introduced a new program last month called Metro Lift, which provides a 50 percent fare discount to customers who qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in the District, Maryland and Virginia.