MARTA lost nearly $20 million in passenger revenue last fiscal year as riders skipped fares during the agency's gate installation.

The shortfall affects Sandy Springs commuters directly. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is now rethinking how it counts riders altogether, Deputy Chief Financial Officer Greg Patterson said, as first reported by 11Alive on Friday, Sept. 25.

Patterson said the agency has relied on statistical sampling to estimate train passengers in recent months. That method, he said, missed people who boarded without tapping their Breeze cards. He proposed switching to a system that combines tap data with manual counts.

"What we recognize clearly is we've been underreporting our rail ridership probably for many years because of the fare evasion component," Patterson said.

A MARTA official attributed the revenue gap to rider behavior during the gate rollout, saying many assumed transit was free while new equipment was being installed. The Breeze fare gate project, which involves taller gates at every station, is expected to wrap up by October, according to the Fulton Neighbor.

Sandy Springs and North Springs stations are among those affected. Long-term parking rates at both stations increased Sept. 14, rising to $7 per day at Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, while also rising to $10 per day at North Springs for stays beyond 14 hours, according to Appen Media. MARTA estimated the parking increases would generate an additional $500,000 in annual operating revenue.

The proposed counting change matters beyond bookkeeping. Accurate ridership figures factor into federal funding formulas, revenue projections and decisions about service levels on routes like the Red Line corridor through Sandy Springs.

Some board members questioned the approach. One said the agency would never be able to tie inflated ridership numbers to actual farebox revenue: "We're never going to be able to tie that to our farebox revenue, and that's what really concerns me."

Another raised the question of whether a ride should count at all if no one pays or registers in the system, though the member stopped short of making that argument outright.

Board members said they plan to monitor the data closely in the coming months. No date has been announced for a final decision on the new counting method.