Yes, the MBTA is cracking down on commuter-rail fraud

By adamg - 8/20/09 - 9:09 am

The T acknowledged today conductors on commuter-rail lines are attempting to ferret out weasely commuters using fake tickets - as first reported on Universal Hub by Roadman.

T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the bogus-ticket detectors have uncovered eight fake monthly passes or one-way tickets this week. In a statement, acting T General Manager William Mitchell said, "We owe it to the vast majority of our customers who regularly pay their fares to expose the selfish behavior of those who feel they don't have to pay."

Buzz this

Comments

Were you told what they're doing to the counterfeiters?

By Arborway - 8/20/09 - 10:37 am

Slap on the wrist or jail?

Such an obvious question, isn't it?

By adamg - 8/20/09 - 10:46 am

Forwarded to Joe Pesaturo. I imagine they were not thrown off the train as it crossed a river, or keelhauled, or something.

coup d'UH

By issacg - 8/20/09 - 11:11 am

Kudos to Roadman and UH on getting this out. I, for one, welcome fare enforcement, and particularly on the Green Line. A really good time for that, by the way , will be the first week of September, when a lot of people are still on vacation (and the load will be lighter) but the seasonal residents are back in town. Let's make a bold statement right up front and word will get out quickly.

I, for one,

By eeka - 8/20/09 - 11:13 am

welcome our T cop overlords.

http://1smootshort.blogspot.com

Number of scalawags now up to nine

By adamg - 8/20/09 - 11:24 am

Just in from Joe Pesaturo:

The number has grown to nine. The counterfeit passes/tickets were confiscated, and each individual was told to pay the full fare (plus a surcharge for purchasing the fare on board) or get off the train. I am told that a majority of the individuals were embarrassed and somewhat humiliated to be outed as scammers.

I'm not to impressed, Joe.

By HenryAlan - 8/20/09 - 11:26 am

I'm not to impressed, Joe. Humiliation is fine and good, but they ought to be arrested or at least issued some sort of fine. People with counterfeit passes are stealing from the rest of us. That should be viewed as a crime.

Oh wow, they had to pay a $2

By J - 8/20/09 - 1:37 pm

Oh wow, they had to pay a $2 surcharge!

How is this not theft? they should have been arrested

You'd think that forging

By JCK (not verified) - 8/20/09 - 2:48 pm

You'd think that forging passes would be an arrestable offense.

Nine! Wow!

By Kaz - 8/20/09 - 2:24 pm

At $250/pass, that's a whole $2250 of revenue protected! (and that's assuming they caught 9 zone8 monthly pass offenders...which we already know they didn't by talking about $8 one-way tickets too...)

I hope they didn't pay more than what has been protected in revenue to the consultant who came up with the name "Revenue Protection Program" and the purchase of all of those UV flashlights!

Sheesh.

Another Thing To Consider

By Suldog - 8/20/09 - 4:01 pm

In all probability, those 9 being outed will have an effect on others not as yet caught, possibly leading to them actually paying their fare shares.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

So is it just random? I saw

By Adam (not verified) - 8/20/09 - 11:50 pm

So is it just random? I saw them do this on Wednesday night but they didn't do it during my morning or evening commute on Thursday.