New Ticket Collection Policy?

25Hz wrote:It would be cool if ticket validators were on trains (not light rail obviously). Would save conductors time and they would lose less potential revenue on overpack trains.

There are ticket validators on trains....they are trainmen with punches

On an overpacked train, there would be a line for the validator. A good trainman can collect and cancel tickets and inspect monthlies many times faster than a validator ever could

I'm not sure what you're proposing, and what you mean by "not light rail obviously".
Do you mean self service Proof of Payment validators like what we have on NJT light rail platforms, but on railroad trains?
I vaguely remember some buses in Rome when I visited in 1976, which had 3 sets of doors, board at the front if you have a pass, board at the rear and buy a ticket as you pass the vending machine next to the last seat, exit from the center doors. If my teenage memory's correct then at least somebody had already tried 'validators' on vehicles.

Also If so you did mean Proof of Payment, you've left out the enforcement part, including some way to differentiate between those who had boarded and not yet had a chance to get to the validating machine, as Jtgshu says because of the long line, vs those who had gotten a chance to use them but decided not to and try to get a free ride. In my 1976 Rome example the inspector presumably would give folks who had just boarded a reasonable amount of time to pay up before considering them to be violators, but that's on a vehicle with only 1 unpaid entrance, something that seems easier to handle on a 3 door per non-communicating light rail vehicle than on a many door railroad car that allows passengers to go between cars.

I was thinking more of a bar code scanner, fare collectors could have handheld scanners, for really crowded trains simply have people scan at the door as you enter. Color codes would indicate if scanning is optional or mandatory for that car, crews could change the lights from the door control panel & could select just that car or whole train. It's just an idea, not sure if it would really work or not in real life.

If that's what you meant why did you write "It would be cool if ticket validators were on trains" instead of "It would be cool if ticket collectors and conductors had bar code scanners"?

Even a bar code scanner would take longer to inspect a monthly than a good trainman with their own eyes. A good, sharp eyed trainman can see several passes a second, while a scanner (like they use at Devils games for example to "cancel" a ticket) needs to scan each ticket, and some of those monthly passes are not in great condition, they might have a problem scanning, not work/scan each time, etc.

I think there will be some sort of scanners in coming years, but I don't think they are going to be anything like a validator or anything like that, but the bigger problem comes with people using a ticket twice (with transfers, etc), not going where they are supposed to, stuff like that, and NOTHING "kills" a ticket like old fashioned collecting and cancelling. Have to physically get it out of the people's hands. Otherwise its going to turn into "they took the wrong ticket on the other train" "this is what I got from the machine" "what do you mean this ticket is no good!" etc etc etc.

Yes, wear could affect readability but there are ways around it. I do agree seat checks for legit tickets works pretty well. I guess my overall point is that it's time to stop losing potential revenue on crowded trains when the opposite should be happening.

Jtgshu wrote:Even a bar code scanner would take longer to inspect a monthly than a good trainman with their own eyes. A good, sharp eyed trainman can see several passes a second, while a scanner (like they use at Devils games for example to "cancel" a ticket) needs to scan each ticket, and some of those monthly passes are not in great condition, they might have a problem scanning, not work/scan each time, etc.

I think there will be some sort of scanners in coming years, but I don't think they are going to be anything like a validator or anything like that, but the bigger problem comes with people using a ticket twice (with transfers, etc), not going where they are supposed to, stuff like that, and NOTHING "kills" a ticket like old fashioned collecting and cancelling. Have to physically get it out of the people's hands. Otherwise its going to turn into "they took the wrong ticket on the other train" "this is what I got from the machine" "what do you mean this ticket is no good!" etc etc etc.

On my recent Amtrak trip from NWK to BAL and return a scanner was used and it took MUCH longer than eyeball scans by NJT crews. But Amtrak has a long time between stops and can tie the ticket with the reservation system so makes sense.