New T fare hike proposal for 01/07

Well, like I said before, due to expenses like AFC installation, combined with people cheating the fares, this fare hike is going to be necessary. So we'll just have to live with it, I guess.

That's right, all those turnstyle jumpers, and those cheating the "Bill of Rights" system by asking for too many refunds, claiming they were delayed 30 min or more but were really not.

Hey, speaking of the bill of rights offenders (I feel dirty just saying that), anyone see this?

http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_063213938.html

One Methuen man who made 73 refund requests returned $605 in refunds after being confronted by transit police, the MBTA said. The man had another 103 requests seeking $875 in refunds pending. He wasn't charged because he returned the money.

In another case, a Malden legal secretary used two post office boxes in Plymouth to file claims in the name of her mother, dead stepfather, and nieces, nephews, and grandchildren, officials said. When police interviewed the woman, who also wasn't charged, police said she had $538 in approved refund slips and $2,932 in pending claim forms.

More at the link.

Everyone: I seem to understand from reading here that the MBTA is lenient towards fare evaders am I right? In my opinion arrest and prosecution or worse is a bit much BUT what can be done is the issuance of a summons with some teeth as well as a substantial enough monetary penalty. I am thinking somewhere along the lines of the PATH here in the NYC area-the penalty has been for some time 100 times the current fare-or nowadays $150. That should be enough to get the message across that it is not worth it! On the MBTA commuter trains maybe institute for the first time PEAK and OFF PEAK one way tickets with the next increase as well as simplify in my opinion one of the most complicated fare structures in America! Some ideas from MACTRAXX

SbooX wrote:Hey, speaking of the bill of rights offenders (I feel dirty just saying that), anyone see this?

http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_063213938.html

One Methuen man who made 73 refund requests returned $605 in refunds after being confronted by transit police, the MBTA said. The man had another 103 requests seeking $875 in refunds pending. He wasn't charged because he returned the money.

In another case, a Malden legal secretary used two post office boxes in Plymouth to file claims in the name of her mother, dead stepfather, and nieces, nephews, and grandchildren, officials said. When police interviewed the woman, who also wasn't charged, police said she had $538 in approved refund slips and $2,932 in pending claim forms.

More at the link.

When you think about it commiting on-time request fraud is simple. You just go to the system status page and choose a train that is running late and send in a request using the online form. This is why there should be some sort of punched ticket or something that you can submit to prove that you were on the train that was delayed.

When you think about it commiting on-time request fraud is simple. You just go to the system status page and choose a train that is running late and send in a request using the online form. This is why there should be some sort of punched ticket or something that you can submit to prove that you were on the train that was delayed.

Well with the CharlieTicket system they could easily scan people's tickets and issue a refund or a "RefundTicket" similar to the ChangeTicket that the bus fareboxes can print. Once the commuter rail has handheld scanners for the CharlieCards they could do this too.

However this would mean may more people would request refunds than currently since I'd imagine most people don't take the time to fill out the form. However at least the T would be able to know they are paying refunds to people who are paying customers.

I dunno, what's everyone think about that idea?

JS