Caltrain - Revision history

Lensovet: /* Concise chronology of events */ final updates

2007-06-08T05:03:48Z

‎Concise chronology of events: final updates

Lensovet: /* Concise chronology of events */ latest updates

2007-05-31T05:01:42Z

‎Concise chronology of events: latest updates

Lensovet: +timeline section

2007-05-29T04:25:07Z

+timeline section

Lensovet: missing word

2007-05-27T19:38:28Z

missing word

Lensovet: +digg link

2007-05-27T07:04:04Z

+digg link

Lensovet: /* Caltrain's follow-up */ transclude caltrain followups

2007-05-27T06:54:23Z

‎Caltrain's follow-up: transclude caltrain followups

Lensovet: transclude translink communication

2007-05-24T17:52:05Z

transclude translink communication

Lensovet: + translink response

2007-05-24T16:25:25Z

+ translink response

Lensovet: /* "Fare evader" incident */

2007-05-24T08:49:27Z

‎"Fare evader" incident

Wadmin: Protected "Caltrain" [edit=autoconfirmed:move=autoconfirmed]

2007-05-24T08:10:13Z

Protected "Caltrain" [edit=autoconfirmed:move=autoconfirmed]

@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 ;–, 9.40 pm
 :I respond, stating the obvious, and attach some pictures I took recently at the station showing the Translink readers in action.
 ;to be continued...?
 ==Notes==
 {{reflist}}

@@ Line 123: / Line 123: @@
 ;May 26, 2007 2.02 pm
 :A different Caltrain customer service rep, Astrid Lindell, responds, informing me that the fact that some equipment has intermittently been turned back on "has not presented a problem." A week after the incident, not one offer for a refund has yet been made.
 ;to be continued...?
 ==Notes==
 {{reflist}}

@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 Oh yeah, congrats to them for being unable to spell my name correctly even though they had it ''written in an email'' in front of them. lol. I really appreciate their offer to, say, adjust the balance on my account though. Shows that they really care about their customers.
 {{/Translink}}
 ==Notes==
 {{reflist}}

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 I stepped off the train, the doors in my car closed, and the train pulled out of the station. Some guy from the front half of my car jumped to the door and flipped me the bird. I turned my back to the train; someone else knocked on the window, but I didn't bother looking to see what they had to show me. I began dialing [http://transit.511.org 511] on my cell to get in touch with Caltrain customer service at 4.59 when two cops came up the stairs onto the station platform. I noticed that they were both wearing K-9 uniforms; I couldn't be happier to know that I was getting a a K-9 unit dispatched to harass me. I explained to them what had happened; they contacted the train to make sure that the matter had been resolved to Caltrain's satisfaction, told me that they would not take any sides in the matter and were simply Caltrain's enforcement agents, and left.
-I called 511 at 5.02 and filed a complaint. The woman on the phone apologized and suggested that I take a [[w:samTrans|samTrans]] bus to Millbrae so that I could arrive there about 10 earlier than the next train. Being pissed off at Caltrain in general and not feeling like waiting for nearly an hour, I went down to the street level and got on the bus. While waiting for it, I noticed another police car pull up with an actual dog in the back seat. Wow, they were really serious about this, eh?
+I called 511 at 5.02 and filed a complaint. The woman on the phone apologized and suggested that I take a [[w:samTrans|samTrans]] bus to Millbrae so that I could arrive there about 10 minutes earlier than the next train. Being pissed off at Caltrain in general and not feeling like waiting for nearly an hour, I went down to the street level and got on the bus. While waiting for it, I noticed another police car pull up with an actual dog in the back seat. Wow, they were really serious about this, eh?
 I arrived at Millbrae 50 minutes later than if I had been allowed to stay on the train, missing 3 BART trains. I finally left Millbrae on the 6.11 train, though I did find it interesting that the Caltrain that was supposed to arrive at 6.08 never actually did, making taking the bus the right choice.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:04, 27 May 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	<digg>http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Caltrain_kicks_off_paying_passenger_and_refuses_to_accept_responsibility</digg>
		+
	==Background==		==Background==
	As far back as 2001,<ref>http://www.bicycling.511.org/news/press_releases/archive/rel188.htm</ref> the Translink pilot program was launched. This program entails a single smartcard (much like the [[w:Oyster card\|Oyster card]] in London) that you can use to pay fare at all of the different public transit agencies in the SF Bay Area. The pilot took place at select [[w:BART\|BART]], [[w:MUNI\|MUNI]], [[w:Caltrain\|Caltrain]], [[w:Golden Gate Transit\|Golden Gate Transit]], [[w:AC Transit\|AC Transit]], and [[w:Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority\|VTA]] routes/stations. The pilot ended officially ended in 2006; BART and MUNI turned off their card readers sometime in the middle of the year, whereas Caltrain and VTA turned off (or were supposed to, in the case of Caltrain) their readers in October of 2006.<ref>http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?s=12cbca9518521bf2fda99e9b4e8d6d0a&p=6549254&postcount=17</ref> It was also around this time<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit&diff=87021478&oldid=85754301</ref> that AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit fully launched Translink on all their routes and vehicles, meaning that anyone with a Translink card could now pay for fare on their routes with the card. Caltrain sent out a letter to all card members in November 2006 informing them that the card readers were no longer functional and that it was no longer possible to pay for Caltrain fares using Translink. People who have joined Translink since aren't told anything with regard to the matter.		As far back as 2001,<ref>http://www.bicycling.511.org/news/press_releases/archive/rel188.htm</ref> the Translink pilot program was launched. This program entails a single smartcard (much like the [[w:Oyster card\|Oyster card]] in London) that you can use to pay fare at all of the different public transit agencies in the SF Bay Area. The pilot took place at select [[w:BART\|BART]], [[w:MUNI\|MUNI]], [[w:Caltrain\|Caltrain]], [[w:Golden Gate Transit\|Golden Gate Transit]], [[w:AC Transit\|AC Transit]], and [[w:Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority\|VTA]] routes/stations. The pilot ended officially ended in 2006; BART and MUNI turned off their card readers sometime in the middle of the year, whereas Caltrain and VTA turned off (or were supposed to, in the case of Caltrain) their readers in October of 2006.<ref>http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?s=12cbca9518521bf2fda99e9b4e8d6d0a&p=6549254&postcount=17</ref> It was also around this time<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit&diff=87021478&oldid=85754301</ref> that AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit fully launched Translink on all their routes and vehicles, meaning that anyone with a Translink card could now pay for fare on their routes with the card. Caltrain sent out a letter to all card members in November 2006 informing them that the card readers were no longer functional and that it was no longer possible to pay for Caltrain fares using Translink. People who have joined Translink since aren't told anything with regard to the matter.

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:54, 27 May 2007
Line 65:		Line 65:

	People who beta test new technology are usually given some sort of reward. In the case of Caltrain, I was punished and am now being told that the matter isn't even your fault and that it's up to '''me''' to resolve the situation. I was expecting better than this. FYI, I will not be riding on Caltrain any longer until you get your fare collection policies in order and take responsibility for your actions.\|\|\|Paul Borokhov}}		People who beta test new technology are usually given some sort of reward. In the case of Caltrain, I was punished and am now being told that the matter isn't even your fault and that it's up to '''me''' to resolve the situation. I was expecting better than this. FYI, I will not be riding on Caltrain any longer until you get your fare collection policies in order and take responsibility for your actions.\|\|\|Paul Borokhov}}
		+	{{/Caltrain}}

	==Translink's response==		==Translink's response==

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 *give her some form of ID and have her write a citation for not paying my fare
 *get off the train, buy a ticket on the platform, and get on the next train
-Neither of these options seemed particularly fair or appealing. Getting a citation for a violation which I didn't commit seemed rather ludicrous. Getting off the train wasn't really an option either since Caltrain service on the weekends is hourly, and I was supposed to meet people in Berkeley at 7.
+Neither of these options seemed particularly fair or appealing. Getting a citation for a violation which I didn't commit seemed rather ludicrous. Getting off the train wasn't really an option either since Caltrain service on weekends is hourly, and I was supposed to meet people in Berkeley at 7.
 She gave me some time to "think about" what I wanted to do. I'm not really sure what exactly she was thinking when she said this, but there wasn't much to think about. I had paid my fare. Since Translink is designed by the great folks at [http://www.erggroup.com/ ERG],<ref>http://www.erggroup.com/projects/sanfrancisco_1.htm</ref> there wasn't a number that I could call that would tell me (for example) the last transaction on my account (what's worse, the balance provided over the phone isn't up-to-date either, but the closing balance for the previous day), and since I didn't have a camera, there wasn't a picture that I could show her demonstrating that the readers were clearly functional (and deducted money off my account!). She threatened to call the cops, and I told her to go right ahead, also asking her to call someone at the Palo Alto station and have them take a look at the card readers. Obviously, she didn't give a flying fuck about what I wanted and just wanted to show who was the boss, so she simply called the cops and considered her job done.
-By this time, we had reached Belmont station. Passengers got on and off. There was a passenger in our car that apparently didn't have a ticket and went for the citation. In the meantime, the train was held up while we were waiting for the cops to arrive. According to the Belmont PD, they received the call at 4.56. While we were waiting, I struck up conversation with the woman in the seat behind me and explained to her what the Translink program was. Someone from the middle of the car told me to be considerate of other passengers and just get off; I told them to complain to Caltrain customer service. While I'm all about being altruistic and considerate, my time is worth something too, damnit. Why the hell do I have to wait an hour because Caltrain can't get their fare collection system together?
+By this time, we had reached [[w:Belmont (Caltrain station)|Belmont]] station. Passengers got on and off. There was a passenger in our car that apparently didn't have a ticket and went for the citation. In the meantime, the train was held up while we were waiting for the cops to arrive. According to the Belmont PD, they received the call at 4.56. While we were waiting, I struck up conversation with the woman in the seat behind me and explained to her what the Translink program was. Someone from the middle of the car told me to be considerate of other passengers and just get off; I told them to complain to Caltrain customer service. While I'm all about being altruistic and considerate, my time is worth something too, damnit. Why the hell do I have to wait an hour because Caltrain can't get their fare collection system together?
 Sarah then proceeded to go on the PA system and announce that the train was being held up due to a "fare evader." This was pretty low, since not only did I pay my fare, but also because she had no basis to shift the blame on me. In retrospect, given Caltrain's response to this, I'm not surprised in the behavior, but it was a bit of a shock to me at the time. Then, a hispanic man told me that it was in my best interest to get off the train before the cops came because when they did, I'd get a citation anyway. This actually freaked me out a little, since I had no idea what the cops were going to do and realized that they would do things first and ask questions later.

← Older revision	Revision as of 08:10, 24 May 2007
(No difference)