Don't know how many of you heard about Metrolink taking a blogger to "world court" this past year (the case was thrown out), but they are at it again. The same passenger refuses to sign his monthly pass, and was cited, then charged with battery on a conductor.
My train videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/karldotcom
Maybe the Judge will give him 30 days bread and water!
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Anyone who follows my posts knows how I feel about intrusive actions by agents of the government, and if this confrontation was taking place where he was peaceably conducting himself in the station, or the parking lot, or any other place where the public has a right to be, I would be on his side.
That is not the case here. A ticket or pass is required to board the train. Metrolink has a legitimate need to verify that a person on the train, or about to board the train, has paid the fare. The signature, a thumbprint, or a photo ID, as long as it is only on the pass and not stored in any database, is a common and valid way to verify that the pass belongs to the person presenting it.
Some people just enjoy making waves.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
somebody should remember we do have the right to petition the government with our grievances. There is a time & place for everything. Not sure what else to say.
Rgds IGN
This has been true for years for railroading in general. If you pay on the train, you pay a cash fare and get a receipt. Penalties are charged if you pay on the train and the ticket agent is on duty at train time. Conductors are not ticket vendors and do not handle round-trip or multiple-trip fares.
Maybe SEPTA's the exception, I'm pretty sure the conductor on board can sell any ticket that you could otherwise get from a machine, including connecting to another SEPTA regional rail line, and maybe even some through ticketing NJ Transit Trenton-New York. Yesterday the conductor offered to sell a round trip, so they definitely still do that. Since the price is 2x the one way there's not too much advantage.
Not all of SEPTA's stations have ticket vending machines or ticket sellers, so morally they shouldn't always charge an on board penalty, but I do know at one time at least they did. There was quite a bit of justifiable complaint, so I'm assuming they returned to the old fashioned policy where the on board penalty applied only when in cases where the the station has ticket selling facilities.
Patrick Boylan
Free yacht rides, 27' sailboat, zip code 19114 Delaware River, get great Delair bridge photos from the river. Send me a private message
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
I wonder if he also refuses to sign his driver's license.
These days it takes more than a signature to prove who a person is.
Chuck
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