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There is a Difference Between Rule Enforcement and Passenger Harassment


BrooklynBus

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It's funny that you talk about the (MTA) stealing money from passengers' MetroCards... Every time that I've raised this issue, it's been dismissed as if I'm crazy.... It's good to know that I'm not the only one paying attention...

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It's funny that you talk about the (MTA) stealing money from passengers' MetroCards... Every time that I've raised this issue, it's been dismissed as if I'm crazy.... It's good to know that I'm not the only one paying attention...

It happens from time to time; I've noticed too when traveling with friends and they have metrocard issues lol. Hence why having a monthly is so much more convenient :P

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It happens from time to time; I've noticed too when traveling with friends and they have metrocard issues lol. Hence why having a monthly is so much more convenient :P

Yeah but I've had instances where I've started unlimited cards and immediately they stopped working... Dirty fare box.... So then I had to break in another one... I actually haven't had a problem in a long time, but I think a lot of that had to do with poor maintenance and dirty fare boxes on Staten Island.  Yonkers has excellent maintenance and their fare boxes are rarely broken.

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It's funny that you talk about the (MTA) stealing money from passengers' MetroCards... Every time that I've raised this issue, it's been dismissed as if I'm crazy.... It's good to know that I'm not the only one paying attention...

Don't know when else you've mentioned that on here, but had I seen it, I would have concurred....

 

I started noticing that shit wayyyy back around the time of the metrocard's inception; namely with the metrocard readers/checkers @ any subway station (I refuse to use those things anymore).... Also, you could be swiping 3,4,5, etc. times at one turnstile (when you're getting read errors), and with the next swipe when it finally takes, it "takes" alright - more than one god damned fare.... Same deal with on buses with numerous times dipping & it "taking" more than one fare when the read error ceases.....

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Don't know when else you've mentioned that on here, but had I seen it, I would have concurred....

 

I started noticing that shit wayyyy back around the time of the metrocard's inception; namely with the metrocard readers/checkers @ any subway station (I refuse to use those things anymore).... Also, you could be swiping 3,4,5, etc. times at one turnstile (when you're getting read errors), and with the next swipe when it finally takes, it "takes" alright - more than one god damned fare.... Same deal with on buses with numerous times dipping & it "taking" more than one fare when the read error ceases.....

Well I don't have that problem too often since I don't use pay-per-rides too often but still... It's not only that, but when your card is damaged, it can take MONTHS before they replace it, and then they automatically deduct at least one day from your pass when it isn't your fault that the card is damaged... I mean talk about a load of BS.  Worst off the place isn't even open seven days a week, so you know that if it happens on the weekend, you are really screwed, which has happened to me.  So in short, when that happens, of course I have to start another card, then replace the damaged one and then wait for the replacement, which is ridiculous... They pro-rate the damn thing, and will give you checks in small amounts to deposit, and then put say 5 days on the card... 

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I only use monthly and weekly metrocards and recently I'm constantly running into the situation in which the turnstile tells me to swipe again. Sometimes "Swipe again at this turnstile". After swiping at the same or a different turnstile I get the message "Just Used". It sometimes drives me crazy depending on where I am. Sometimes it's like 2 blocks to another subway station and sometimes it's a 30+ minute walk away. So I end up having to wait for a bus. It's so annoying. But I am still never gonna use a regular metrocard because I'm afraid of the same thing happening except I will end up losing $2.50. RRR.

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I only use monthly and weekly metrocards and recently I'm constantly running into the situation in which the turnstile tells me to swipe again. Sometimes "Swipe again at this turnstile". After swiping at the same or a different turnstile I get the message "Just Used". It sometimes drives me crazy depending on where I am. Sometimes it's like 2 blocks to another subway station and sometimes it's a 30+ minute walk away. So I end up having to wait for a bus. It's so annoying. But I am still never gonna use a regular metrocard because I'm afraid of the same thing happening except I will end up losing $2.50. RRR.

When that happened with me, I would go straight to the Station Agent - at whatever entrance they were at and explain what happened, that I just true to swipe and the turnstile said just used. Usually they would check the card and wave me in through the special turnstile or the emergency gate. Never had a problem doing that.

@Brooklyn,

 

I don't know if I would include the walking between cars on the harassment list. Sure it's a good source of revenue, but I'd take it more of a CYA lability issue for the (MTA) . The fine is a deterrent to the not-so-law-breakers and the rule makes a defense in a possible civil lawsuit if someone were to get injured or worse.

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Sure it's a good source of revenue, but I'd take it more of a CYA lability issue for the (MTA) . The fine is a deterrent to the not-so-law-breakers and the rule makes a defense in a possible civil lawsuit if someone were to get injured or worse.

Why was it never a problem for 90 years with people walking between cars all the time and doors even chained own in the summer before A/C?

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Because legal liability wasn't as big of a number in the budget 20 years ago as it is now.

So I guess we should also spend billions of our scarce resources to retrofit our subway stations with glass door partitions because a few people still don't realize it is dangerous to look out over the tracks to see if a train is coming or stand too close to the yellow line on a crowded platform.

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So I guess we should also spend billions of our scarce resources to retrofit our subway stations with glass door partitions because a few people still don't realize it is dangerous to look out over the tracks to see if a train is coming or stand too close to the yellow line on a crowded platform.

That's comparing apples and applesauce; same area, different level of implementation. That's the thing, how much did this new rule cost the MTA? Nothing compared to platform screen doors. The rules and warnings about standing past the yellow line and entering the tracks have long been in place. Any court in any day would've found the (MTA) negligent for not requiring passengers to remain a safe distance from and off the tracks. As a matter of fact, it's a federal standard. People will have a very hard time successfully suing the (MTA) for ignoring warnings and being injured as a result.

 

However, if someone fell between cars and is run over (as has happened numerous times), the (MTA) could've been found responsible for facilitating a hazardous public environment by failure to warn or prohibit passengers from crossing cars except in an emergency or as directed by an official. From a safety standpoint in a public entity, it's a very large red flag. We all know that common sense and "it's been done millions of time without incident" are not very strong arguments in court, and that most establishments need to have things spelled out to people in order to protect themselves. All it takes is one incident, and the (MTA) has had plenty.

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So I guess we should also spend billions of our scarce resources to retrofit our subway stations with glass door partitions because a few people still don't realize it is dangerous to look out over the tracks to see if a train is coming or stand too close to the yellow line on a crowded platform.

If the (MTA) moved into the 21st century, people wouldn't have to stand too close or keep checking to see if a train is coming.  They are so behind with the times that it isn't even funny.

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My point is, the crossing cars limitation by the (MTA) is more in the scheme of saving millions of those scarce resources in possible liability cases and settlements than harassing the passengers. The fine gives the rule bite and acts as a deterrent.

If it weren't being done for the money, it wouldn't be enforced at terminals where there is no danger. Just as taking up two seats is enforced at 3 AM with only one or two passengers in the entire subway car. It's only for the money.

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If it weren't being done for the money, it wouldn't be enforced at terminals where there is no danger. Just as taking up two seats is enforced at 3 AM with only one or two passengers in the entire subway car. It's only for the money.

The slip hazard isn't cancelled out just because the train is at the terminal. Floor conditions, footwear, weather, and many more things can cause someone to go under. If people don't want a ticket then do what I do: walk on the platform. There's less obstructions and tit for tat, it's not as dangerous as crossing between cars. I keep a very clear ear and prepare to jump in the nearest set of doors the second I hear an announcement or the bell.

 

I used to cross between cars plenty before the rules came down. I know for myself when I crossed I was extra aware of my grip and my footing because I knew that the potential to fall was there, even though I've done it hundreds of times without incident. When the rules came down, I decided that it was a rule that I can understand and follow, one because I understood the safety potential, and two, I didnt want to get a ticket.

 

If cops have quotas, then guess where they'll be: where loads of people are violating the rules.

 

On the obstructing the seats issue, my wife was picked up by the cops one time late at night for sleeping with her legs up on the seat. I understood the summons since putting your legs on the seat was a violation (though a bag on the seat is only when conditions warrant, that can be argued with the TAB *crosses fingers*). What I didn't understand was the cops' holding her at the Pacific Ave station for another 80 minutes while they corralled other passengers. Then they give her a lesson on how she can be a target by sleeping on the train. Thanks guys, keeping my wife out until 2 in the morning makes her a target also. That, I will concede, is passenger harassment.

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I only use monthly and weekly metrocards and recently I'm constantly running into the situation in which the turnstile tells me to swipe again. Sometimes "Swipe again at this turnstile". After swiping at the same or a different turnstile I get the message "Just Used". It sometimes drives me crazy depending on where I am. Sometimes it's like 2 blocks to another subway station and sometimes it's a 30+ minute walk away. So I end up having to wait for a bus. It's so annoying. But I am still never gonna use a regular metrocard because I'm afraid of the same thing happening except I will end up losing $2.50. RRR.

Stay at the same turnstile when it says "...at this turnstile." It's kinda like it has some of your cards information and it needs another swipe. That's why it says "just used" when you go to another one. You can switch, however, when it just says swipe again. Sometimes the turnstile's reader need to be cleaned.

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That happened to the guy in front of me once. I was in a hurry one morning and the person in front of me was having problems getting through the turnstile. Here I come behind him in a hurry thinking he swiped through, and the next thing you know I end up swiping him in by mistake and I end up locked out with "Just Used" on the turnstile.

 

Good thing there happened to be a cop on the other side of the turnstile and he let me in through the gate.

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