Yet more MBTA asshattery

[Dreamstalker]

No moose-knuckles or second hairdos this week, I'm afraid (or is that a good thing?).

Red Line again. I'm on the platform at Harvard Square watching a train pull out (I have a strange quirk wherein if I'm not standing on the platform when a train pulls in I will not try to run for it). A shining example of ghetto society comes tear-assing down the ramp swearing up a storm ("F you, why the F didn't you wait for me you F'ing F, you saw me!" etc...with kids nearby). I was waiting for him to trip on his baggy pants and go flying into the side of the train but that didn't happen. Our star throws something at the train (it seemed to be a plastic soda bottle), and was escorted off the platform by the transit police very shortly afterwards (he had to have fare-jumped as they seemed to be watching him). All the while protesting his innocence in front of about 50 witnesses and just in time to miss the next train that was pulling in as he was removed (which provoked yet another storm of F-bombs).

The usual fare-jumpers, including a mother with stroller and 3 other kids who tried to sneak in the reduced-fare gate behind me (can you be more obvious?). Irony there is that she would have only had to pay for her fare given the ages of the kids.

[protege]

Even better...would have been for the bottle to bounce off the train, smack the ghetto superstar upside the head...before the transit police got him. That would have made my day

[Sandman]

Did he ever return,
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn'd
He may ride forever
with the police of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

[Dreamstalker]

I was hoping for that too. I'm still wondering if it would have been "better" for it to be a glass bottle (then the punk really could have been arrested and charged...fare-jumping I believe is only a fine*)

* Fine is something like $500. Let's see, $500 fine versus $2 fare...

[smileyeagle1021]

I was hoping for that too. I'm still wondering if it would have been "better" for it to be a glass bottle (then the punk really could have been arrested and charged...fare-jumping I believe is only a fine*)

* Fine is something like $500. Let's see, $500 fine versus $2 fare...

oh I know... I see that in Salt Lake all the time, granted our fine is only like $100 or $150, not that much, but still... I've actually heard people doing the math like, hey if I can get away with not paying my fare for at least 50 rides it will be cheaper to pay the fine than to have paid the fare... good plan jackass except in my experience I've had my fare checked about ever 1 to 2 dozen rides...

[Dreamstalker]

I'm not entirely sure what the MBTA fine is, but it's somewhere in that ballpark. I've never had my fare checked (I've also never tried to fare-jump; I have a reduced-fare card/ID which must be in the MBTA system, so doing so when I could possibly be identified is just stupid).

Last year an outbound fare for the streetcars was instituted (it used to be that outbound rides aboveground were free, now everyone has to pay); all the time I see people sneaking in the back doors of the train and "forgetting" to pay the fare up front until the driver yells at them over the loudspeaker. I've always wondered why the middle and back doors are even opened aboveground...obviously it's to make disembarking easier for people near the back, but there's really no way to monitor people trying to sneak on that way.

[crazylegs]

I'm not entirely sure what the MBTA fine is, but it's somewhere in that ballpark.

Mass. (something) Transit Authority. At a guess.

[Victoria J]

I was waiting for him to trip on his baggy pants and go flying into the side of the train but that didn't happen.

As you missed that cheering sight let me share my own favourite train related sighting.

I was coming back by train from a day out (yay ! seaside) getting off at the last stop. It's a long walk down the platform and to the gates out. It's a major station with a whole line of automatic gates and always at least one staff member working the manual gate.

As I'm walking along (with some heavy bags - seaside and shopping ) I start noticing this guy walking along some way in front. He's going for the baggy trouser look, but somewhat over baggy. Not only showing the top half of his boxers but they keep starting to slide down, and he's walking along, every few steps starting to have more and more trouble walking and having to yank them back up. He's very obviously drunk.

Quite funny.

Then he gets to the gates and attempts to jump them. As his trousers fall again.

He went sprawling, landed flat on his face and got lead away by transport police.



(I felt slightly sorry for him because it was so pathetic, but I certainly did )

Victoria J

[sms001]

Mass. (something) Transit Authority. At a guess.

Bay. (Otherwise known as "The T.") But I think DS was more unsure about the fine than the name... lives in Boston.

[smileyeagle1021]

I've always wondered why the middle and back doors are even opened aboveground...obviously it's to make disembarking easier for people near the back, but there's really no way to monitor people trying to sneak on that way.

they could always do the same thing UTA does, have all fares collected off board at all train stations through automatic ticket machines and then just have transit police do random sweeps of the vehicles... they are actually starting to do that on some bus lines also because the few lost fares are made up by needing less vehicles because they have a faster schedule speed (not having to wait for joe stupid to count out his change while the bus is waiting does save a lot of time).

[Dreamstalker]

Not only showing the top half of his boxers but they keep starting to slide down, and he's walking along, every few steps starting to have more and more trouble walking and having to yank them back up. He's very obviously drunk.

Then he gets to the gates and attempts to jump them. As his trousers fall again.

He went sprawling, landed flat on his face and got lead away by transport police.

OK, that just made my night.

The system most commonly used is stored-value smartcards (touch-range RFIDs, I think), and some of the aboveground stops do have readers that then print a receipt which I assume is to be shown to anyone doing spot-checks. Back when the system was first implemented, they did have people checking onboard, but not anymore.

At one point T employees on the platform had nifty armband-mounted validators--just tap the card on their armband gizmo and board without having to wait in the line at the front (one would assume that had a wireless link to the farebox in the car). Haven't seen one of those in a few months though.

[mattm04]

I don't live in Boston, but oce a year we usually for to see the Sox. We go from Riverside to Kenmore or Fenway. This year they actually checked fares, but last year (the game got out late, nearing the last few trains) they just kept waving people thru.

[Dreamstalker]

Yeah, they did that for some festival downtown at Government Center near the old city hall. Way too many people trying to shove their way in during rush hour, so the "regular" working commuters/those who knew the routine were just waved through.

Drivers will do that aboveground if the farebox decides it hates everyone.

[Dreamstalker]

And more!

This was on the Green Line inbound (street level stops). As I think I mentioned upthread, all doors will open and you'll get people trying to sneak in the back. Most conductors have fun calling them on it over the PA (a recent trend has been to ID fare-jumpers by what they're wearing, so to get the whole train staring at them...especially effective if said train is going to Fenway for a game, one thing you do not want is a train full of rabid Sox fans mad at you).

So two women and a guy sneak in the back. Cue driver, he makes it clear that the train will not move an inch until they've paid up.

One of the women storms up to the front and yells "I don't have to pay! I'm pregnant!" Her girlfriend starts in, backing her up with "It's a LAW that you can't make pregnant people pay a fare!" (um...half-right in that kids 5 and under don't have to pay, but the parents still have to)

After a few minutes of this silliness, the male in the group pays for everyone while apologizing sheepishly. Poor guy, I couldn't help but wonder if that was planned on the womens' part to weasel out of paying even if they were caught.

[rerant]

I have to admit I fare jump sometimes depending on what subway station I'm at, since you can't do it at all of them.
That is to say me and a friend will squish into the same turnstile or I'll hand them my Metro Pass if it's an unattended turnstile.
Hey, they're transferable now so I'm not technically breaking the rules on that one.