I rode the Heartland Flyer yesterday and there was a new conductor on the train that I have only seen a few times before. She is so short that she has to use her radio to push the handle up on the Superliners to open the door. (ON A RAISED PLATFORM EVEN!) Right before she took our tickets, she was talking to some guys behind us and was complaining because Amtrak still used hole punchers instead of scanners. Don't get me wrong, I love the old fashioned punchers that the conds use. If anyone would like to comment you are very welcome to.
Also, the same people that were behind me took their bikes to Pauls Valley. I heared that since the Hi levels were out of service, there was no space for bikes. The conductor put the two bikes in a utility closet on the outside of the superliner coach we were in. Never knew that there was space there.
Well a lot of passenger operators are moving towards hand held scanners. I know the MBTA commuter rail is working one to integrate it with the rest of the Charlie Card system (right now the T and the commuter rail ticking is independent with the exception of passes). The conductor can complain all she wants but Amtrak isn't going to move away from punchers primarily because Congress won't give them enough money.
Metra still uses conventional conductor punches, they're used for single-ride and 10-ride tickets and for cash fare receipts.
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