MTA robs Island of Railway free ride

[LRG]

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Next stop: Paying to ride the Staten Island Railway no matter where you get on or off.

 

The MTA plans to restore fare collection along the entire 14-mile rail line from St. George to Tottenville within the next few years, as part of a master plan to raise more revenue, cut down on crime and close what has been a free-ride perk that is unique in the city's public transit system.

 

Turnstiles recently installed at the Tompkinsville station are the first part of the plan, which eventually will incorporate "Smart Card" technology to collect fares along the rest of the line.

 

Riders now swipe their cards only at Tompkinsville and St. George, while the train is free for trips beginning and ending at any other stations along the line. Make the 37-minute trip between Stapleton and Tottenville, for instance, and pay not a cent.

 

When the new system goes online, which, owing to the MTA's budget crisis, is still at least a few years away, passengers will no longer use MetroCards but rather pay with a "Smart Card," likely a "tap and go" system, where a card is held up to a reader without the need to slow down to swipe.

 

The system would include a way for inspectors to check for proof that the fare was paid, and scofflaws likely would face a steep fine if caught.

 

If you didn't pay and there were a spot check, "you'd have a problem," said MTA board member Allen Cappelli.

 

St. George and Tompkinsville will remain the only stations with gates and turnstiles, though the MTA is considering possibly installing turnstiles at Grasmere as well, as it is a heavily used transfer point for the S53 bus to and from Brooklyn. Those three stations are among the most used along the line, and having the turnstiles would mean fare inspectors could focus their attentions on other stations without gates.

 

The Railway lost about $3.4 million a year when onboard fare collectors were eliminated in 1997. Fares were collected only at St. George until this January, when a $6.9 million stationhouse opened at Tompkinsville. The Tompkinsville station alone is expected to collect about $702,000 a year in fares, but a projection of how much revenue the entire Railway could expect to earn with the new system in place was not immediately known.

 

While "there are people who clearly enjoy this unintended benefit" of a free ride, "everybody pays to go on the system everywhere else," said Cappelli, who is among a growing contingent pushing the MTA to bring back the fare for considerations of safety.

 

City Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) said he has believed for years that "there is a direct correlation between the elimination of the fare on the Staten Island Railway and a spike in vandalism and crime on the trains and abutting communities."

 

"I don't think in the long run it's been worth the quote-unquote break," he said.

 

Link: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/mta_robs_island_of_railway_fre.html

 

All I have to say is...it's about time. Eliminating the fare from the stations as well as the ferry was a mistake from the beginning.

[2Line1291]

Even w/ the free fares, they felt disconnected from the city.

[mark1447]

Its about time, its not fair them SI peeps get free ride while we have to pay..

 

Of course i will miss a free ride on the SIRTOA!

 

also wrong forum..

[fishmech]

All I have to say is...it's about time. Eliminating the fare from the stations as well as the ferry was a mistake from the beginning.

 

Meh, the ferry fare was never all that much, and besides if you're taking the ferry you're probably taking the subway or a bus on the Manhattan side and a bus or the SIR on the Staten Island side.

 

I say: let's reinstate allowing cars to be taken on the ferry, each of the ferries with car holding capability can hold like 20 cars minimum right? Reinstate the car toll - I believe it was $5 until cars on the ferry were banned after 9/11 - let's make it $8 now each way.

[Messino]

This is all talk and no action. In the end it will be just the way it is now..No fare to be paid unless you get off at thompkinsville or the ferry

[LRG]

This is all talk and no action. In the end it will be just the way it is now..No fare to be paid unless you get off at thompkinsville or the ferry

 

Well I heard talk about installing fare control back at Tompkinsville before 2007 and look, it's already here. All in good time, watch and see.

[S78 via Hylan]

Hopefully this will be in effect after I leave SI for good. B)

[SmallParkShuttle]

This is all talk and no action. In the end it will be just the way it is now..No fare to be paid unless you get off at thompkinsville or the ferry

 

If its guaranteed money for the , they'll find a way to do it.

[fishmech]

Don't forget - Staten Islanders still don't have to pay for the SIR if they take a bus to it. You take any Staten Island bus route and transfer to the SIR, you get one free transfer at the St George fare gates and another free transfer at Whitehall/South Ferry or any Manhattan bus that stops at the ferry terminal or nearby.

[SmallParkShuttle]

Don't forget - Staten Islanders still don't have to pay for the SIR if they take a bus to it. You take any Staten Island bus route and transfer to the SIR, you get one free transfer at the St George fare gates and another free transfer at Whitehall/South Ferry or any Manhattan bus that stops at the ferry terminal or nearby.

 

Which means that the got their money anyway, just not as much. :cool:

[Matt91]

All this is really doing is putting in a fare for intermediate riders, as there should be. Those who go to St George (and the other boroughs) won't pay anymore than they do now, because of those free transfers, and the intermediate riders would only pay a single fare each way, even if they take the bus, because of those same free transfers. It's like if someone were to ride any other subway line for free because they didnt board at a terminal or other hub: the wouldnt allow it, so why should intermediate SIR riders get a free pass?

[Queens Surface]

The money lost by non-fare collection vs. installing a fare system. The lost 3.4 million a year without collection of fares. Then 6.9 million was spent on adding fare control to Tompkinsville. So that's about two years of non-fare collection and the plans to add this to another station.

[EE Broadway Local]

I kind of thought this might happen after Tompkinsville Station went into effect. It wouldn't surprise me if Tottenville or Stapleton were next.

[fishmech]

The money lost by non-fare collection vs. installing a fare system. The lost 3.4 million a year without collection of fares. Then 6.9 million was spent on adding fare control to Tompkinsville. So that's about two years of non-fare collection and the plans to add this to another station.

 

If it pays for itself in 2 years, it sounds good to me.

[Joe]

The title here is garbage and biased more than Fox News. The MTA isn't robbing them of shit, they've been lucky enough to have a relatively-free transit system. Now that the MTA has decided "oh shit son, maybe it's time we charge these wops" they all cry foul. What bullshit, they should have been paying for the entire line all along.

[Rutgers Tube]

The title here is garbage and biased more than Fox News. The MTA isn't robbing them of shit, they've been lucky enough to have a relatively-free transit system. Now that the MTA has decided "oh shit son, maybe it's time we charge these wops" they all cry foul. What bullshit, they should have been paying for the entire line all along.

 

"...wops..."

 

HA!

 

I'm half Sicilian and I still think that's a riot. :cool::tup::tup:

[rr4567]

I'm half Sicilian and I still think that's a riot. :cool::tup::tup:

Mmmmmmmm....you're half pizza.

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

It's about damn time SI had to pay their fare.

[Joe]

"...wops..."

 

HA!

 

I'm half Sicilian and I still think that's a riot. :cool::tup::tup:

 

Don't let the sparing use of German fool you, i'm half Italian. My family hails from the other side of il Stretto di Messina though.

[Y2Julio]

 

Don't let the sparing use of German fool you, i'm half Italian. My family hails from the other side of il Stretto di Messina though.

Speak English you immigrant!

[Joe]

no u

[Rutgers Tube]

Mmmmmmmm....you're half pizza. .

 

And I also have some kielbasa and streusel to go with the half-pie as well.

 

Don't let the sparing use of German fool you, i'm half Italian. My family hails from the other side of il Stretto di Messina though.

 

Since neither of use are 100%, we can't become made men. But we can still become associates, and that turns a decent profit if you hustle. You want the unions, the Shylock, or the garbage contract? :cool:

 

Speak English you immigrant!

 

No joda con la gente de la bota! :mad:

[Y2Julio]

de la bota? Estas tratando de hablar español con google translator o algo? porque lo que tu dijiste no tiene sentido.

[GojiMet86]

No joda con la gente de la bota! :mad:

 

Don't f*ck around with the people of the...boot?

No se lo que esta trandando de decir. Ni la menor idea.

[Joe]

Since neither of use are 100%, we can't become made men. But we can still become associates, and that turns a decent profit if you hustle. You want the unions, the Shylock, or the garbage contract? :cool:

 

posso avere il contratto della immondizia? immondizia è molta proficua.

[GojiMet86]

Parli l'italiano?