Valid Free Transfers?

[CenSin]

To begin off topic…

 

Today, I brought to a subway turnstile a card with absolutely no money. It was to be refilled with a $20, but I thought I'd try swiping anyway. The turnstile displayed "Insufficient Funds" as expected, but upon pushing just a bit, it let me through as if it had charged me $2.25. There was a cop, but I didn't look back.

 

Heading back towards the Coney Island direction from Jay Street, I refilled my card and swiped my way in only to stumble into a crammed Kings Highway-bound . It was after 5 minutes that I realized the train wasn't going to move (due to another train stuck at Bergen Street for about 30 minutes already), and along with a lot of other passengers, I left the train for some alternative means of transportation. Being the smartass that I was, I decided to take the to Nostrand Avenue and then take the back to Franklin Avenue to transfer to the and then to the at Prospect Park to head to Coney Island. When I got to Nostrand Avenue, I found that there was no way to cross over to the Manhattan-bound side. I didn't want to be charged $2.25 either, so I decided to look for some nearby bus routes that would take me somewhere I was familiar with. Along came the B44 Limited, which I got a free transfer to. And let me tell you the ride was insanely slow reminding me why I didn't board a bus for years and chose to walk and run instead, but I didn't have the stamina to run from Fulton Street all the way to Coney Island and beat the bus (though for a mile or two I probably would've been faster). The B44, of course, didn't go to Coney Island, but it did go to Sheepshead Bay, which I frequented in my junior high school years and I knew there was a B36 I could transfer to.

 

And karma always bites you back in the ass, because as soon as I boarded the B36 and dipped my card in, I was charged $2.25.

 

Now going back on topic, someone tell me why the MTA thought nobody would need a Subway-Bus-Bus transfer?

[checkmatechamp13]

To begin off topic…

 

Today, I brought to a subway turnstile a card with absolutely no money. It was to be refilled with a $20, but I thought I'd try swiping anyway. The turnstile displayed "Insufficient Funds" as expected, but upon pushing just a bit, it let me through as if it had charged me $2.25. There was a cop, but I didn't look back.

 

Heading back towards the Coney Island direction from Jay Street, I refilled my card and swiped my way in only to stumble into a crammed Kings Highway-bound . It was after 5 minutes that I realized the train wasn't going to move (due to another train stuck at Bergen Street for about 30 minutes already), and along with a lot of other passengers, I left the train for some alternative means of transportation. Being the smartass that I was, I decided to take the to Nostrand Avenue and then take the back to Franklin Avenue to transfer to the and then to the at Prospect Park to head to Coney Island. When I got to Nostrand Avenue, I found that there was no way to cross over to the Manhattan-bound side. I didn't want to be charged $2.25 either, so I decided to look for some nearby bus routes that would take me somewhere I was familiar with. Along came the B44 Limited, which I got a free transfer to. And let me tell you the ride was insanely slow reminding me why I didn't board a bus for years and chose to walk and run instead, but I didn't have the stamina to run from Fulton Street all the way to Coney Island and beat the bus (though for a mile or two I probably would've been faster). The B44, of course, didn't go to Coney Island, but it did go to Sheepshead Bay, which I frequented in my junior high school years and I knew there was a B36 I could transfer to.

 

And karma always bites you back in the ass, because as soon as I boarded the B36 and dipped my card in, I was charged $2.25.

 

Now going back on topic, someone tell me why the MTA thought nobody would need a Subway-Bus-Bus transfer?

 

They should do what they do in Orlando, where you pay the fare and receive a transfer card that could be used as many times as you like, within, I think 3 hours. I guess this is better than before, where there were many 2-fare zones in areas that weren't served by the subway.

I guess the MTA figured that 1 transfer would get you where you needed to go, but a theoretical rider in an area like East Flatbush, which has no subway service would have to pay twice if they needed to go to a place like Fordham Plaza in the Bronx.

By the way, why didn't you just take the to Franklin Avenue instead of taking the and backtracking? Also, did you walk to the or take a northbound or ?

[CenSin]

They should do what they do in Orlando, where you pay the fare and receive a transfer card that could be used as many times as you like, within, I think 3 hours. I guess this is better than before, where there were many 2-fare zones in areas that weren't served by the subway.

I guess the MTA figured that 1 transfer would get you where you needed to go, but a theoretical rider in an area like East Flatbush, which has no subway service would have to pay twice if they needed to go to a place like Fordham Plaza in the Bronx.

By the way, why didn't you just take the to Franklin Avenue instead of taking the and backtracking? Also, did you walk to the or take a northbound or ?

There weren't any trains. The train I took was like the fourth to enter the station.

[Fresh Pond]

You could've walked to Franklin from Nostrand its only 2 blocks (3 if you count Arlingon Pl as a block)

[Zman]

To begin off topic…

 

Today, I brought to a subway turnstile a card with absolutely no money. It was to be refilled with a $20, but I thought I'd try swiping anyway. The turnstile displayed "Insufficient Funds" as expected, but upon pushing just a bit, it let me through as if it had charged me $2.25. There was a cop, but I didn't look back.

 

What happened was that the turnstile wheel was previously unlocked either due to another passenger mistakenly swiping twice, or was activated by the clerk for someone else and that person entered in a different fashion; the clerk cannot relock a turnstile wheel. Before I started working for Transit, I always used to push the wheel before I deposited my token. I was good for 2-3 free rides a week by doing that, and all perfectly legal.

 

 

Now going back on topic, someone tell me why the MTA thought nobody would need a Subway-Bus-Bus transfer?

 

Because of the vast coverage that the subway provides, it really isn't warranted (except maybe in Staten Island)

[checkmatechamp13]

You could've walked to Franklin from Nostrand its only 2 blocks (3 if you count Arlingon Pl as a block)

 

He still would've had to pay the fare once he got to Franklin Avenue.

[BrooklynBus]

What happened was that the turnstile wheel was previously unlocked either due to another passenger mistakenly swiping twice, or was activated by the clerk for someone else and that person entered in a different fashion; the clerk cannot relock a turnstile wheel. Before I started working for Transit, I always used to push the wheel before I deposited my token. I was good for 2-3 free rides a week by doing that, and all perfectly legal.

 

I also used to push the wheel before throwing my token in in the 1960s and averaged about one or two free rides a week. I also thought I was doing nothing wrong. I found out it was illegal when I read how someone was arrested for doing just that because a cop saw him go through without putting the token in. It didn't matter that the turnstile turned anyway.

 

Because of the vast coverage that the subway provides, it really isn't warranted (except maybe in Staten Island)

 

It certainly is. Because of poor bus routing in some areas, there are many trips requiring a two buses and a train. In fact sometimes that option would save you 15 minutes over taking two buses to make the same trip, but people don't want to pay the extra fare unless they have an unlimited. They might even save money by being able to run less bus service if they allowed unlimited transfers within 2 hours instead of only one bus. You can take an unlimited number of trains for one fare, so why only two buses, or one bus and as many trains as you want?