March 1 new fares and ticket policies are crazy!

UpperHarlemLine4ever wrote:As far as being a public benefit corporation, ie public authority, it is still bound by state law. The still have to pay even some local taxes. The MTA is a public authority but the two railroads are still companies. The MTA acts as a conduit for funds to these two railroads. The employees of the two railroads are NOT public employees although the railroad would like to tell you that they are. The are not bound by the Taylor Law.

As a state agency, the MTA is exempt from local laws (e.g., zoning, taxes, health). They do not pay local taxes and are not subject to local zoning regulations. For a real-world example, look at what happened when the Town of Southampton tried to prevent the LIRR from erecting a communications tower along the ROW.

LIRR and MNCR employees are regulated under the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA) which supercedes the Taylor law. If a federal court were to determine that the LIRR and MNCR were no longer "carriers" under the law, then they would probably (after extensive litigation) be declared to be subject to the Taylor law.

UpperHarlemLine4ever wrote:It wasn't until MTA days that they would not give the money back; in fact in the beginning of Metro North, you could still get the money back by writing to customer service in New Haven. Don't think too many people went that route. Now however there are cases where the surcharge is more than the fare itself. Don't think you can even get the money back when the ticket vending machines are out of order, which happens with quite some regularity.

You can receive a refund for the on-board surcharge if you contact the RR. While I cannot speak for the pre-Cubic TVM policy on MN, I know that when the LIRR used the Schneidt-Bachmann TVMs, the conductor had the discretion of charging the on-board surcharge, since the rule at the time was that the passenger was subject to the surcharge if the ticket booth was open OR the TVM was operating 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. I would imagine that MN had a similar policy.

Nester

With the surcharge in some places, it's like you are paying for an Amtrak ticket in some places.

1) UpperHarlemLine - The onboard fare from the Bronx to White Plains is NOT $7.00, it is $8.00.

2) MN policy is that it makes NO difference whether the ticket machine is even functioning or not. If you buy your ticket on the train FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, you will pay the higher onboard fare.

3)Exemptions from onboard fares: Senior Citizens & Handicapped passengers may purchase a ticket onboard the train AT ANY TIME with NO penalty. They must of course be in posession of the proper identification, (legal proof of age, disability, etc), that allows the privelege of travel at the reduced senior/handicapped fare. If no proof, then no reduced fare.

4)IF you purchase onboard, and IF the machine WAS malfunctioning for WHATEVER reason, and MNR can verify it, then you will be issued the refund. I don't know what the process entails, but I do know that they DO have the ability to verify if a machine is either down, not accepting cash, not accepting credit cards, or out of ticket stock. All of the machines are "online" and any problem can be verified if indeed a problem did exist.

I have people lie to me every day of the week and tell me that the machine was broken, only to receive a ticket moments later from someone that JUST bought one from a machine.

5)Conductors and onboard train crews CAN NOT waive the additional costs of the onboard fare. There is NO MORE CONDUCTOR DISCRETION. That has been removed from the scope of the Conductor's authority. The ONLY way that the onboard fare may be waived is at the direction of the Rail Traffic Controllers, which I have NEVER heard of, or at the direct order of a company manager.

I can recall a situation in Stamford last year.

An automobile struck a utility pole in the area. As a result, power lines came down and the entire Stamford station complex had no power. No power to ticket machines, and no power to the computers in the ticket sellers office.

There were train masters & superintendants on the platforms notifying train crews in person to charge ONLY STATION FARE. That is the ONLY time I personally have ever seen that happen.

Nester wrote:

UpperHarlemLine4ever wrote:As far as being a public benefit corporation, ie public authority, it is still bound by state law. The still have to pay even some local taxes. The MTA is a public authority but the two railroads are still companies. The MTA acts as a conduit for funds to these two railroads. The employees of the two railroads are NOT public employees although the railroad would like to tell you that they are. The are not bound by the Taylor Law.

As a state agency, the MTA is exempt from local laws (e.g., zoning, taxes, health). They do not pay local taxes and are not subject to local zoning regulations. For a real-world example, look at what happened when the Town of Southampton tried to prevent the LIRR from erecting a communications tower along the ROW.

LIRR and MNCR employees are regulated under the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA) which supercedes the Taylor law. If a federal court were to determine that the LIRR and MNCR were no longer "carriers" under the law, then they would probably (after extensive litigation) be declared to be subject to the Taylor law.

UpperHarlemLine4ever wrote:It wasn't until MTA days that they would not give the money back; in fact in the beginning of Metro North, you could still get the money back by writing to customer service in New Haven. Don't think too many people went that route. Now however there are cases where the surcharge is more than the fare itself. Don't think you can even get the money back when the ticket vending machines are out of order, which happens with quite some regularity.

You can receive a refund for the on-board surcharge if you contact the RR. While I cannot speak for the pre-Cubic TVM policy on MN, I know that when the LIRR used the Schneidt-Bachmann TVMs, the conductor had the discretion of charging the on-board surcharge, since the rule at the time was that the passenger was subject to the surcharge if the ticket booth was open OR the TVM was operating 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. I would imagine that MN had a similar policy.

Nester

The policy is still the same, except at most Zone 14 stations on the LIRR, where there are no ticket machines, and thus no onboard penalties. However, there must be a sign anywhere else that says Station Fares, unless you are boarding at Mount Pleasant, Appalachian Trail, Manitou, or Breakneck Ridge, OR transferring from an SLE train at New Haven. This is unless the understanding between Amtrak and the MTA has changed.

Guys: Good group of posts! I agree that the MTA is going perhaps too far on its penalty charges - does MNCR have as on the LIRR so-called EXEMPT stations where there is no machine or ticket office is located? The LIRR EXEMPT stations listed are: zone 1-Shea Stadium(A ticket office is located here for special events) zone 9-Pinelawn;zone 12-Bellport,Speonk and Yaphank and zone 14-Riverhead,Mattituck,Southold,Greenport,Bridgehampton,Amagansett and Montauk. The smallest ridership LIRR station with a machine is MEDFORD - for 8 trains a day weekdays and 4 on weekends normally. Some obvious places on MNCR sound like exempt stations - is Appalachian Trail a good example? The LIRR policy at EXEMPT stations is to charge the office/machine price. The HIGHEST penalty charge is to those who fail to pre-purchase a City Ticket from NYC stations on weekends - now $3 - the on board fare in this case is $10 - a $7 penalty!! MACTRAXX

Yes there are stations that are exempt. I can only name the ones on the New Haven though. Waterbury branch all the stations are without TVM's. On the Danbury branch only Danbury and Wilton have machines and on the New Canaan branch only New Canaan has the TVM's. I am not certain about the Harlem Line but I believe Mt. Pleasant would not have one.

Terminal Proceed wrote:I can recall a situation in Stamford last year.

An automobile struck a utility pole in the area. As a result, power lines came down and the entire Stamford station complex had no power. No power to ticket machines, and no power to the computers in the ticket sellers office.

I was riding a train to Fordham that day, and arrived in time to buy my ticket from the TVM, when I realized the power was out I was very thankful that I had cash on me because otherwise I don't know what I would have done, I always use my debit card to buy tickets, and don't usually bring much cash with me.

Yes there are stations that are exempt. I can only name the ones on the New Haven though. Waterbury branch all the stations are without TVM's. On the Danbury branch only Danbury and Wilton have machines and on the New Canaan branch only New Canaan has the TVM's

Yeah there is no extra fee from Glenbrook, so I would assume that applies to Springdale and Talmadge Hill. I always used to go to Stamford or Noroton Heights station a few days before I left from Glenbrook and buy my tickets until I figured this out. Just don't buy a ticket to Stamford and then another one from the TVM because you'll loose money that way.