by mcgrath618
SEPTA is apparently aware of the problem and "looking into it."
Railroad Forums
Moderator: AlexC
mcgrath618 wrote:SEPTA is apparently aware of the problem and "looking into it."Rote response is very rote. :-/
Patrick Boylan wrote:Are you talking about the turnstiles and tap readers? If so I sure agree they should also display balances on the turnstiles and bus and trolley tap readers.Which is something that DC Metro's clunky old faregates have done for years.
Patrick Boylan wrote:I think I was able to see my balance on a vending machine. Are you talking about the turnstiles and tap readers? If so I sure agree they should also display balances on the turnstiles and bus and trolley tap readers.Is this the point of the machines placed in Suburban Station that have never been activated?
MACTRAXX wrote:Why should it be hard to check balances or time remaining on a pass that is currently valid no matter what type it is? MACTRAXXAt the risk of being my usual snarky self ... for the same reason the Key is brimming with OOPses: the clowns who put it together never bothered to think more than 2 cm in front of themselves. They were so concerned about papering over whatever the problems of the moment were that they overlooked everything from suburban transit zones to token use by social-service agencies.
ExCon90 wrote:According to the May issue of Cinders,the newsletter of the Philadelphia Chapter NRHS, "SEPTA reportedly lost $1.4 million in annual revenue from the discontinuance of senior fares on Regional Rail."I wonder how much they've also lost from eliminating suburban transit zones. AFAIK it "only" affected the NHSL plus the 12X and 150 bus lines, but that's still a lot of riders. Also the 12X and 150 had up to three extra zones so that's a maximum loss of $1.50 per trip. All because it never dawned on anyone that there's no rational way to do exit validations on a bus or trolley.
Seems like ineptitude doesn't come cheap.Intelligence can be cheap, stupidity has a much higher price.
MACTRAXX wrote:JB: Yes-all those buses ran to points outside the City of Philadelphia and once had zone fares.Rte. 77 is an extension of Rte. X Chestnut Hill - Glenside, which did have a Suburban Zone long ago.
One exception is Route #77 - which runs between City points (Chestnut Hill to NE Philadelphia
namely Roosevelt Mall) via Jenkintown and Glenside. This route never had zone fares. Another
note I will add about is that the #77 bus serves five RRD stations: CHW, Wyndmoor, GNS, JKT
and Ryers on the course of the run.
MACTRAXX wrote:Over time SEPTA eliminated zones on many long routes making it easier for both operators and riders. The best rail examples are the NHSL were once (3) and #101 (2) zones.
The #124 and #125 bus routes once had the highest zone fares on SEPTA. Making what actually is an express bus a flat rate made it a bargain by SEPTA standards.Bizarrely, an earlier (2013?) tariff actually proposed something like the NHSL upcharge by imposing the full four-zone fare for all trips on the 124/125 and three zones on the 123 regardless of length (!). Aside from the inequity of a $4 cost for local travel, it could have created a mess in places where those routes duplicate others still charging standard fares. Passengers in those overlap areas would have found themselves paying significantly different amounts for identical service solely based on which bus they boarded.