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Comments
I generally jump on the back
I generally jump on the back door, but I also have a commuter pass. I hate to break it to channel 5, but the reason really is because it takes too long. At Northeastern at 6 PM (when I get on), there's usually about 50-100 people waiting to get on. It'd delay service extremely to have everyone pay AND everyone would have to get off on the front doors, which is no easy task on the already packed E Line.
There are some nights where there's T employees there checking passes and letting those people on the back door, but it's once a week or so.
Long story short, if it happened on the E line, like it used to, likely only a handful of people would be able to get on any given train.
T Fare Collection
I wonder if those folks also know how RELIEVING it is to everyone involved when the operator grants everyone onto the vehicle. It's always a happy moment when that happens!
Part of the inefficiency is that there is only a single point of sale for riders to submit fare for boarding.
If, in addition to the fare terminal next to the driver, there was an RFID reader to the left near the first seat where RFID folks could swipe while the random joker fiddles with dollars and coins and magstripe tickets, I do not hesitate to suggest it would go much faster.
There needs to be a segregation between RFID and non-RFID, and the ability to handle RFID simultaneously. That's the point of the RFID, isn't it? Better fare collection capabilities and options? On the Bus, things haven't changed much.
Yep
Ya, I mean, I have a monthly pass, it doesn't benefit me at all to get on for free (as I would "for free" anyway). It would eventually hurt me in terms of raising fairs because of it.
But, I'd rather have the train get moving, as I am very often in a huge rush to get to south station, and I'd rather pay a bit more than get stuck in south station for an extra hour and a half every day.
It's an exercise in futility
Even when the Green Line drivers do announce that you have to pay your fare, nobody does. The college students ignore the announcement and the high school students talk back.
Part of me wants the drivers in the lead cars to refuse to move the train until the fares get paid. The other part thinks the first part is crazy, because there's no way that would ever work.
I've had that happen as
I've had that happen as well. What happened was, people just got off and waited for the train that pulled in right behind it (because, when you're collecting all fairs, the trains behind you catch up REAL QUICK). Either way, people are getting on for free.
re: MBTA futility
Yeah, as you deduce, it wouldn't work... but what would be nice is RFID readers at all doors, if they can't afford to hire an employee on the tarmac itself with the portable RFID reader like they used to do, just put those readers in the T cars themselves... with some sort of display up front with a count... so they could at least get some better usage metrics, or visually count when each person enters if they swiped... it would be confusing, but confusing fare collection is better than free rides.
Enclosed above ground stops?
I guess they could also enclose the above ground T-stops and put turnstiles at the entrances. But that would be a pretty significant expenditure of capital.
Enclosed above ground Green Line stops
Riverside and Lechmere are already gated, and the plan for the extension into Somerville and Medford is for those stations to be gated as well.
2 Down
2 Down, like 100 to go :)
A few of them simply aren't possible, especially as you get to the end area of the E line, where the stops are basically in the street.
Longwood Gated?
The way they're rebuilding Longwood on GreenD makes me think they're trying to make it gated, too.
Europe gets it right
There are very easy fixes for this:
1) Install card readers at every trolley entrance
2) Require validation at the end of the ride
3) Require ticket validation at the station/bus stop
3) Enforce fare beating laws
I come from NYC. You cannot get on a bus without paying your fare, no matter how late the bus is. If it's really that far behind, the schedule/route needs to be tweaked. If you try to beat a fare at the subway, you have a decent chance of being ticketed/arrested. If you try it on a bus, they'll just call the police and wait. I've seen it happen.
In Europe, it's the honors system, but they'll come around every 10th time or so and check your ticket. If you haven't paid, you get nailed with a very punative fine. There aren't many people who play those odds and come out ahead.
I take the D line and have stopped buying a monthly pass because I rarely have the opportunity to swipe my card during the morning rush and no one checks. If the MBTA isn't going to bother enforcing, then I'm not going to bother paying. (Yes, I know this isn't a good attitude, but when I'm riding a train that still has a fare chart with $0.85 on it and stops whited out, I don't really feel that bad)
re: Europe gets it
Sounds like the real difference is enforcement and penalties. Cheaters get caught, busses call the police, and fines get slappin'
(reminds me of our bicycle discussions. lack of enforcement and weak penalties enables the outlaws)
What if...
There will always be people who avoid paying, but disturbing part is that people are willing to pay but can't. I think the problem is really crowd control, especially at busy stations where one person trying to pay cash holds up everything.
Why not section off the platform. The first door of the first cab is cash only, separated by a barrier of some kind on the platform all remaining doors are for card holders. Of course RFID readers would need to be installed on all doors. This way the driver can attend to the cash people while the other 5 doors are loading and unloading people. This would work for most stops except a few near the ends of the B and E lines but it's not really busy there anyway.
Combine this with random spot checks (who would support cop overtime on the T with RFID readers instead of standing next to an nstar truck looking down the manhole?) and harsher penalties. Just like parking tickets for the city, fines for evasion could become a source of income for the T.