March 26th, 2009
Does Anyone Pay to Use Light Rail?
We live close to a light rail stop and I’ve started to use it a lot lately, particularly to get to events at 1st Mariner Arena. I’m happy to say, it’s been great, convenient, very quick, and efficient. But it’s got me wondering: Does anyone (but me) pay to ride?
Each time I go to the station, I dutifully go to the kiosk, buy a ticket, and hold it as I get on the train, ride, and get off the train. No one has ever checked that I have a ticket nor does there seem to be any mechanism to do so. Someone said they’ve heard the MTA does random checks, but no one I’ve spoken with has ever seen that happen. I’m starting to feel like a dupe for plugging my money into those machines.
I have seen other people buying tickets at the kiosks, but I also often see people just walk up and get on the train. What’s to stop them? (In fairness, they might have weekly/monthly passes or earlier-purchased tickets.) I get the sense that many people avoid taking the light rail because of safety fears (though I have never felt unsafe, even with my toddler). It would seem the MTA could quell those fears—and increase revenue to boot—by installing some type of mechanism to make sure people pay to ride.
Thoughts?
[photo courtesy of Gavin St. Ours]
11:40 am
Categories: Uncategorized
I’ve been using light rail for about 3 months and I’ve already checked twice. I guess it’s just a matter of timing.
I have also never felt unsafe on the trains themselves, but every single time I bend down to get my ticket from the kiosk I inevitably run into a hand asking for the change from the machine.
[…] took the light rail down to the arena (read about that on my other blog, here) and found our way past the blizzard of blinding light-up toys to our seats, about ten rows up from […]
I’ve paid, maybe, twice on the so so many times I’ve ridden. No one’s ever checked me or any of my friends. But ssh don’t tell!
I’m a fairly new resident in Baltimore, and on my very first ride 6 months ago I was checked by a transit officer. My brother was checked about a year ago. Another guy on his train didn’t have a ticket and got issued a citation.
Maybe it does have something to do with the time of day. I usually take the Light Rail in the evening and have never been checked. Maybe they check more often during rush hour times, when the cars are probably more crowded…
I have been wondering this for weeks! I’ve been using the light rail for about three weeks now from the Patapsco park and ride out to Lexington and back to and from work. I’ve never been checked and I’ve never seen anyone get checked. I heard someone say today that it was the “honor system”. I definitely feel like a sucker paying the $3.20 round trip fee every day (when I don’t have the month or week pass) but I think I’d feel like I was stealing from Maryland or something if I didn’t pay. Plus, what’s the citation up to $500 or something if you get caught?
I think that many of the folks you’re seeing on the train have monthly passes and so don’t need to buy tickets for an individual trip. Because of the way in which the line was built, most folks have to take a bus at some point in their trip and so they need the monthly pass (or a day pass) for their full trip.