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Fare evader sends $300 to the T to assuage his guilt


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Your $300 is greatly appreciated by the bottomless money hole that is the T.

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"Malingering MBTA employee sends $18,000 in fraudulently collected sick time to assuage his guilt"

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I wonder if it's possible to put a couple of poles up in key places and people with something like an E-ZPass transponder pass through them and then they're billed automagically...?

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As long as we wear license plates so that the cameras can be used to identify those who don't have their EZ Pass...

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In other countries, they can use bluetooth through devices like their phones to hold their mass transit payment info (like ApplePay/TouchPay that's slowly rolling out here). These still require gates at the doors.

However, the no-booth EZPass that you're thinking about has a backup system for those that might try to shirk payment. It takes a picture of your license plate and uses license records to send you a bill if you went through without a transponder. That's not so obvious with a swarm of people in a crowd. Pedestrians don't wear license plates.

The real option for what you're looking for is to setup a bunch of stations that will timestamp your transit card (physically or digitally) and then use transit cops to monitor compliance with a huge fine if you're caught without a card or with an unstamped card. This way you don't need to gate everyone. You just run up and down the trains at random and check for compliance and you can have everyone stamp their cards at their leisure throughout the stations (or on the trains as they enter).

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There is a real person named Brian Shortsleeve ???

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That's his name. Actually there was an anchor on WBZ who had that last name also (Joe Shortsleeve). He said he was constantly asked if that was his real last name.

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It's their constitutional right, after all.

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I don't get your statement..

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2nd amendment=the right to bear arms
Short sleeves=bare arms

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The right to "bare" arms.

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They are exercising their right to bare arms.

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but with everything that went on yesterday in the news (re: gun control). They could have been gun fanatics :-)

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is Joe's nephew.

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I went to school with a kid whose surname was Courtemanche, which is French for "short sleeve." Perhaps some Shortsleeves were Courtemanches too, way back in the day.

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Thanks former fare evader! Now it will only take 23,333,332 long-time fare jumpers to write a $300 check to the T and they'll finally be able to fix the long term problems plaguing the system!

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..or a governor and legislature willing to finally remove the big dig debt from the MBTA and fund the repairs and the expansion needed to relieve the bursting system. Or we could just keep investing in more roads and parking and let the T totally break down (as opposed to the current perpetually partially broken down system we have) and see how easy it is to get around then.

Now it will only take 23,333,332 long-time fare jumpers to write a $300 check to the T

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Now its time for commuter rail riders, who sneak off the trains without paying 32 million a year, to find their conscience. Its not enough to say the conductor didnt get to you before you got off so you dont think you need to pay, any more than its ok to sneak out of a restaurant without paying if the waiter hasnt dropped the check x minutes of you finishing your meal. South, Back Bay, North station and all subway stations have fare machines where you can buy your tickets, and anyone with a smartphone can pay on their phone. If the conductor hasnt made it to you before you get off, just rip up the ticket and activate your phone app when you board, not when the conductor reminds you to. Stop sneaking off without paying, if your answer is to hire more conductors because you cant be trusted, well, then the increased costs are your fault.

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How many people used to take the T but stopped because of overcrowding? Seeing as how the cost to run a train is a fixed amount irrespective of number of riders it would seem to impact of overcrowding far outweighs the relatively small few who don't have a monthly pass and manage to slip by the conductor.

There is an equilibrium in which the T is reliable and uncrowded enough to attract many riders, a vast majority of which pay as they should. Obviously fare jumping needs to stop but it's a drop in the bucket compared to the much larger problems facing the system. It might feel good to see these people caught but when you can't squeeze onto a train what's the point?

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The revenue would be the same (starting out), and fare-payers wouldn't have to squeeze as much.

Then the revenue increases as the lower squeeze attracts more riders, until you reach an equilibrium.

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Maybe it's the librarian in me, but I have a soft spot for people who man up & pay their overdue fines.

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Adorable!

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I don't take the T normally, but both time I did yesterday(Park to Kendall, and then back) Someone snuck behind me with no repercussions. First person was ahead of me, tried to use their card, but once I pulled out my wallet and used my Charlie Card, he hopped right behind me. On the way back the guy just came right up behind me and snuck in. Kind of annoying, but I'm not confronting someone for not paying. Not worth it.

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...is part of why I get so frustrated with the Fare is Fair attack on commuter rail riders. There's rampant fare evasion on the subway as well, but it's easier to vilify the commuter rail contractor for their problems.

That said, I have seen more fare evasion enforcement by TPD at Park St and Kendall in the last year that I ever recall before. So they might be starting.

That said, enjoyed another ride w/o fares collected last night...because what should be a 5-6 car commuter train was jammed in to 4 cars again. Up in the front car, the crew didn't even bother, and I don't blame them. Aisle was filled end-to-end, we were three stops out of North Station before it was easy to walk through. By then, it's unfair to the people going further out to collect when the zone 1/2 riders get out free.

FWIW, I have a pass.

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