[PRCo] Re: [PRCo]End of a Street car line?

[John Swindler]

Fred could also purchase a SEPTA ten-trip senior citizen ticket for $8.50 unless he prefers Amtrak from Lancaster.  
 
> Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:14:12 -0400> From: joshua.dunfield at gmail.com> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> Subject: [PRCo] Re: [PRCo]End of a Street car line?> > On 2008-08-07, John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com> wrote:> >> > You had to pay the surcharge, Fred????> >> > I boarded a SEPTA train at the Philadelphia airport over a year ago.> > The change machine did not recognize the new $5 bill and the ticket> > machine did not work. I mentioned this to the conductor and he did> > NOT charge the surcharge.> > Until recently, while the published policy was that you paid a> surcharge if there was a ticket machine or ticket office open where> you boarded, the R1 conductors never charged it for passengers> boarding at the airport. This was nice since it was extremely rare to> find a working change machine *and* a working ticket machine at the> airport stations.> > That was back when SEPTA had ticket machines. They're gone. (Well,> you can buy an R7 ticket along with a NJT NEC ticket from the NJT> machines at 30th Street, but that's it.) The excuse was, in fact,> that they didn't take paper money. (Sure, it was annoying to visit> one machine to get dollar coins and another to get the ticket. It was> still much faster than waiting for a cashier.) SEPTA also now charges> a higher "onboard fare" whether or not there's an open ticket window> where you boarded.> > The difference between the "onboard fare" and the "advance fare" is> less than the old onboard surcharge was, and they've even more> recently introduced a tedious scheme for getting a discount if you buy> onboard and then buy your return ticket from a cashier the same day.> It's still remarkably obnoxious.> > Best,> -j.> > > > From: fwschneider at comcast.net> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> Subject: [PRCo] Re: [PRCo]End of a Street car line?> Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:20:57 +0000> > You want some real bargains Bob: > Compare Amtrak fares between Philadelphia and New York with the "indignity" of taking a SEPTA train to Trenton and changing to a New Jersey Transit local to New York. > > Amtrak varies from $45 coach to $111 for the Acela fare one-way. I think they have a 10% senior citizen discount. > > SEPTA's fare from Philadelphia to Trenton for seniors is $2.00. The New Jersey Transit senior fare is $5.75 from Trenton to New York. Total $7.75 versus $40 on Amtrak versus $50 plus tolls plus parking if you are insane enough to drive. > > My problem is the closest SEPTA fare to me is Exton or Downington and I would still have to drive into there and find a place to park. And SEPTA has an ingenious rule that says it doesn't matter if our fare machines don't take US paper money, if you don't h!> ave!> > a ticket, you pay the surcharge ont he train for not having a ticket.> 
_________________________________________________________________
Your PC, mobile phone, and online services work together like never before.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/108587394/direct/01/