I just got my May ticket from my payroll office and noted a change. There is a bar code on the left side which was not there before. I assume that the conductors will scan each ticket as they pass by each rider. Apparently NJ Transit is having a problem with forged tickets. When riders forge tickets and get away with their crime, the honest customer has to pay for it. NJ Transit is asking for a 9% fare increase so that could compel people to try to beat the system.
For the second time in two weeks I received an e-mail saying that Train 3856 which is scheduled to stop in Newark at 4:22 PM on the way to NYC was cancelled due to mechanical failure. Whenever that happens the following Train 3858 which stops at Newark at 4:38 is delayed. Luckily, both times I was able to avoid this mess by altering my plans accordingly. Today the 3858 was actually 25 minutes late so I really would have been screwed if I kept to my usual plan.
An once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I wish NJ Transit would try to avoid delays so they wouldn’t have to announce them.
I just heard this on WBGO and read the story from WABC TV. There will be public hearings, but of course those will be “kangaroo courts.” I think it is a done deal. Perhaps the increasing will be smaller than threatened. Inevitably, when the fares go up, the quality of the service goes down.
