In mass transit there is
no “free ride”. But there are various
ways of making sure everyone pays their fair share.
Take, for example,
Connecticut’s innovative bus rapid-transit system CTfastrak which runs between
New Britain, Hartford and Storrs. Unlike
with most buses, CTfastrak passengers pay before getting onboard, purchasing tickets
($1.75 for 2 hours’ use) at the bus stations or online. This reduces the
bus’s “dwell time” at each stop as passengers can board through any door. A
similar system is running in NYC on certain “Select Bus” routes and seems
popular.
But without paying a fare
to the bus driver as you board, how do they know you have a ticket? Ah,
there’s the rub. The “honor system” relies on “Fare Inspectors” making
random checks. Getting caught without a valid ticket means a $75 fine.
Though widely used in
Europe, only a handful of US transit systems have adopted the honor system for
fare collection, including the San Diego Trolley and the MUNI light-rail in San
Francisco. In Minneapolis getting caught
on a bus without a ticket is a $180 lesson in “doing the right thing”.
In Los Angeles the Metro
had so many problems with free-loaders they finally converted to turnstiles. Even a $250 ticket for fare evaders didn’t
encourage payment, resulting in a $9 million loss in ticket sales. And the fare
there is only $1.75.
On Metro-North fare
evasion doesn’t seem to be a problem. If you don’t have a ticket they’ll
just throw you off the train (at the next station, of course). Or get an
MTA cop to issue a fine.
Until a few years ago you
could buy a ticket on the train for the same fare as on the platform.
That meant wasted time for conductors selling tickets and making change and a
“money room” at Grand Central processing a million dollars in cash each
week. Now if you don’t have a ticket and buy one on the train, there’s a $5.75
- $6.50 “Service
Charge”… even on a $2 ticket. Senior citizens
get a break as do those boarding at stations that don’t have ticket machines.
The good news is that
on-board purchases can now be made by credit card.
The bigger problem on
Metro-North is uncollected fares. The railroad admits it
loses money by not collecting all tickets… but loses less money than it would
cost to properly staff trains with enough conductors to collect them all.
Most infuriating is when
trains from Grand Central then depart Stamford. Everyone can see that
dozens of commuters got off there and scores more got on. But the new
arrivals’ tickets are often uncollected unless conductors have issued seat
checks to the original NY passengers.
More often, the conductors
just walk through the cars asking for “Stamford tickets”. The scofflaws avoid eye-contact, are seldom
challenged, and ride on for free.
Watching someone traveling
from Stamford to, say, Bridgeport get a “free ride” is like watching someone
shoplift in a store. You just know you’ll be paying more to subsidize
their larceny, with neglectful conductors as their willing accomplices.
Is it so much to ask that
all passengers pay for their ride? Those
of us who do, don’t think so.
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