QUEENS (PIX11) -- A new design for the subway turnstile is turning heads. It's the first big test of a new way in and out of the system. 

NYC Transit will evaluate the usage by commuters and the effect on fare evasion.

New York City Transit is testing a row of new entry and exit points with swinging doors at one location at the Sutphin Archer station in Jamaica for the first time. 

Sensors log when one rider swipes or taps and passes through the structure. The doors quickly close. 

Some riders told PIX11 News it "looked more efficient" and it was "easier because you don't need to touch anything." 

The nearby emergency door has a wider access point for people with wheelchairs, mobility devices or luggage.

MTA Station Agents are standing by to answer questions, offer help and keep an eye on things. A new customer service center also opened nearby. 

The agency will be monitoring fare evasion with this new design.

"That's never never going to stop," a rider said. 

"It's harder for people to jump over or go under," Debra Greif observed.

She uses a mobility device and thinks the wider access gates being tested in place of emergency doors are better. 

"It shuts faster," she said. 

The MTA said half of all subway fare evasion occurs through emergency exit gates. New designs will be tested at Penn Station and in Astoria. One was installed earlier this year at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays, and the agency said it had recouped fares that would have been lost to an open door. 

"Customers traveling to and from JFK with their luggage, commuters transferring from the LIRR at Jamaica, and local commuters can look forward to faster, more accessible journeys and a more welcoming station environment," said NYC Transit President Richard Davey.

Sutphin-Archer station also has travelers with luggage going to JFK. 

"These gates also help combat fare evasion, not just making it harder to skip the fare but easier for customers who want to do the right thing to pay their fare, easily and seamlessly," said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer and Senior Advisor Quemuel Arroyo.

This year, a blue-ribbon panel has met to issue recommendations on combating fare evasion. Leaders say they are planning other measures. 

The gates will be tested over the next few months. Different stations may need different designs, and planners expect a new standard version for NYC to be developed.