WBUR reports on a new MBTA initiative to reduce the number of people riding the rails for free.
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Comments
Adam: nothing on the Life
By Crimetown
Thu, 03/08/2012 - 10:54pm
Adam: nothing on the Life Focus story in the Herald today. Come on will ya, the town is buzzing about it and u are silent....
$15?
By rb
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 8:17am
Not sure how the fine for fare evasion is still $15. What is this, 1970? They've been talking about increasing the penalty for the past decade.
I'm perfectly ok with a low
By anon
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 6:00pm
I'm perfectly ok with a low penalty for the first offense.
Especially on the Green Line, where the fare procedures are so confusing that nobody understands them.
Do you have to board at the front? Or at any door? Only if you have a pass, or validated your ticket/card on the platform? And then do you have to go up front to swipe your pass or show your receipt? Or can anyone board in the back and then go up front to pay later? Can multiple people pay with one stored-value CharlieCard, and if so, what happens if one person gets off first and takes the card, and there's a fare inspection?
Yesterday at North Station
By Mea
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 9:00am
Yesterday at North Station they did check passes prior to boarding. However, on the T the other day, my commuter monthly pass wasn't working and I was told by an MBTA worker to just head in on someones coat tails! They need to start being consistent with what they are trying to do. -Mea http://hertrainstories.blogspot.com/2012/03/cardle...
Got similar instructions on the customer service phone ....
By Michael Kerpan
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 10:11am
... when I went in on the wrong side at Copley Sq -- and then tried to go in on the right side. ;~} (Wait 15 minutes -- or piggyback).
To Do a Turnaround
By R Hookup
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:16pm
Go to the next station with a shared platform. Faster (usually) and less likely to get you arrested.
I know! Even though they say
By Mea
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:37pm
I know! Even though they say to piggyback or ride coat tails, they can deny it. Video doesn't record voices but they record you high tailing it in behind someone. :/
I am surprised they don't
By Mea
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:36pm
I am surprised they don't have some sort of master card that let's people in with out feeling like crooks :) That would be logical.
The people who answer those
By anon
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 6:01pm
The people who answer those phones should be able to open the turnstile remotely. But they can't, so you have to follow someone in. If there's nobody to follow, you're out of luck.
Commuter rail
By Greg L.
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 10:48am
I noticed this on the 4:20pm Newburyport train. Not only did the conductors inspect all passes before boarding, but they doubled down and checked them again once we left North Station.
The double checking is going
By Mea
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:39pm
The double checking is going to throw me for a loop. I am going to have to get one of those wallets with a window for my card because I will misplace that thing. :)
Napping drivers STILL?
By Dave in Fenway
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 9:03am
This morning, on the 7:10 out of the Fenway to Riverside on the D-line, the conductor didn't have the fare box turned on, and was napping throughout the whole trip, waking only to open to doors when folks yelled out to her.
medical emergency?
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 9:49am
I'd have asked her if she was okay ...
Then I would hava asked her to either knock it off or I would assume she was having a medical crisis and act accordingly.
Why wait?
By Cutriss
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:37pm
Start treating these like a medical emergency anyway. If they stay asleep, it's likely to become one.
Inbound @ Airport Station
By anon
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 9:24am
Would be a good place to start. I'd say easily one out of every 5 passengers "piggy backs" a paying customer. It doesn't seem to matter if they know the person or not. The "double buzz" alarm goes off constantly, and I've never seen a T employee move an inch to do anything about it.
False alarms?
By Matthew
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 11:16am
Yesterday I saw a guy tap and have the gates opened normally, but then it buzzed at him anyway. Didn't seem like he did anything weird either.
Happens to me sometimes
By Wally Brown
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 2:24pm
Doesn't seem to be any cause that I can identify.
If you are carrying a large
By anon
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 6:54pm
If you are carrying a large bag or backpack it will buzz like its two people.
Also, children that ride for free will cause it to buzz when they go through with their parents (as they are supposed to). They are legit reasons to do things that will get the same response from the gates as a fare cheat.
Some actual enforcement
By Lecil
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 10:43pm
This afternoon I got on three different buses over the span of about 40 minutes. The second bus didn't beep at me. That bus arrived in Kenmore as a #60, discharged all passengers, then turned into a #57, there by becoming the third bus of my trip. That fare box bleated at me, but the driver recognized me and waved me on. No problem. However, he apparently also totally ignored one woman who just walked right past the fare box. This lead to an argument with the Kenmore inspector who called him on this, demanded he double check with the woman, then did so herself when he refused to. The woman promptly owned up to not paying her fare, and got off the bus and wandered off.
Bonus points to the inspector! I hope she reported the driver. (And not only because he nearly caused me to crack open my head on a poll by stopping dead short at one point while I was wrestling with a folded-up seat that it would have been nice if he had dealt with previously. I digress...)
I don't approve of forcing all passengers on the Green Line to get on the first door; this will cause interminable delays. The fine needs to increase, and there need to be regular checks and passing out of tickets of fare evaders. I used to see this a lot more on the B-Line. How about we take some cops off of security theater and put them to something useful?
If the MBTA wasn't so unionized, I'd suggest some form of incentive plan. Management must have some idea of how much in fares any given vehicle should collect in any given time frame; give bonuses to drivers who hit that mark regularly over some period of time. I wouldn't penalize drivers for not hitting that mark; they need to be empowered to make some judgement calls, but co-opt them (and not just inspectors) in the fare collection process.
This is a complicated problem (well, it's not, but the poor technology that the MBTA has decided to invest in makes it so) which needs complex solutions.
The MBTA needs to step up
By anon
Sat, 03/10/2012 - 9:08am
The MBTA needs to step up security at T stop exits. I have been jumped several times by kids trying to push past me to get in as I leave the T stops.