NJ Transit's Light Rail ticketing system

[Iron Horse]

The ticketing system on NJ Transit's three light rail lines largely relies on riders' moral compasses. Though the threat of getting caught is real, inconsistent ticket enforcement seems to open the way for savvy riders to cheat the system.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2014 ... ail_1.html

[Head-end View]

Transit systems that use Proof-of-Payment honor systems with random enforcement must figure that the amount of fares lost is less than the cost of building/maintaining a collection system of any kind.

[loufah]

How big is the fare enforcement team? Every time I see them on the NLR between Penn and BSS, it's the same four guys traveling at the same time (kind of overkill when there's only 20 passengers, but maybe there's a rule that they need to travel together).

[ExCon90]

Safety in numbers, in case of obstreperous fare evaders? On the Blue Line in Los Angeles, I've seen only one or two at a time, but they were deputy sheriffs with sidearms. I think I also remember seeing a POP system somewhere (can't remember where) on which German shepherds accompanied the ticket inspectors.

[ACeInTheHole]

Safety in numbers does not always work. If you are taking a ride to Newark Penn for example, they sometimes set up a checkpoint right there at the escalator and check every ticket. You dont have a validated ticket. Youre going to get nailed for it.

[ExCon90]

When I said safety in numbers I was thinking about the safety of the inspectors, with loufah's comment in mind about inspectors needing to travel together. There are some places where I wouldn't want to be the only inspector around.

[ACeInTheHole]

Oh, my bad. I read that as though you were talking about the passengers for some reason.

[JeffersonLeeEng]

It costs $1.50 for a single-ride ticket on the RiverLine and if you were traveling from Trenton to Camden, that's practically a bargain in and of itself. Now for the most part, it's NJT PD making the rounds for checking proper fare validation and whatnot as far as I've seen. Usually they board somewhere between Palmyra and Burlington and check at the interim stations for about three or four stops. I'm actually not surprised that summons for fare evasions are highest on the RiverLine since the sheer distance between the two end points and less urban character of the towns along the line make for some amount of confusion. I think there needs to be a better educational factor in this regard.

Signed,
Jefferson