Got a Metro infraction

[the one]

you werent aware? in one of your previous threads i advised you about paying for each leg of your trip. they make us pay for each line. they do it to make money- altho we work on the honor system. its better to be prepared. they usually target the blue line and the red line.

good luck, but you better have a good excuse for not paying your fare.

Originally Posted by robertpasa

Today I was on the Red Line and then transferred to the Gold Line as I wasn't aware you have to pay again when you transfer. The inspector gave me an infraction called 640b2. He told me to wait two weeks and then check the website lasuperiorcourt.org.

Do you know how much I would have to pay?

Also, will I have to appear in court or could I just pay the thing by mail?

[jbunniii]

Wow, when did the MTA stop using transfers? It used to be that a standard fare was $1.35 (90 cents if you paid with a token) and a transfer was $0.25 extra, and good for two hours on any combination of buses and trains as long as it didn't backtrack (which drivers never seemed to check anyway).

So the alternatives now are to pay for each leg or to buy a $5 day pass? That sucks.

Anyway, I once got an infraction on the Green Line because it was pouring rain and the ticket machines weren't under any sort of roof. I had exactly ONE dollar bill on me and not enough coins to cover the fare without the dollar bill. Naturally the dollar got soaked and I couldn't get the machine to even attempt to take it. I decided to chance it anyway, having seen fare enforcement cops on maybe 1% of my rides in the past and I was only going a few stops away.

Naturally the cops boarded at the very NEXT station and busted me. I showed them my limp, sodden dollar bill but they were unmoved. They had me step off the train and issued me a citation.

I think the fine was about $150 back then; it would have been late '90s or so. At least they were good enough to let me back on the train ("show this citation if you run into another fare enforcement officer"). I thought about fighting it but ultimately decided it wouldn't be worth the time to argue about it with limited chance of success.

I didn't have to appear in court or anything. I got a bill in the mail a few weeks later, mailed in a check and that was that.

P.S. The $2 SF Muni fare is a fairly recent thing. It was still $1.25 with free transfer as recently as 2005. They jacked up the fare with the rationale that "almost all locals use monthly passes anyway, and we aren't increasing the prices for those, so this will just soak the tourists." Of course they eventually jacked up the monthly pass too, from $45 to $60. (The $45 used to include BART within city limits, now they charge an extra $10 for that.) Still a good value in my opinion, but the rate of inflation is ridiculous.

[robertpasa]

Originally Posted by Naomi Manischewitz

Just curious, what did the person who give you the ticket look like and how were they dressed? I have always wondered what they look like! I think that it is almost stupid how you have to buy a seperate ticket for a transfer. I just always buy the day pass so I don't have to wait for trains and go back to the kiosk 4x in a day.

They were two guys wearing mostly white uniforms.

[Naomi Manischewitz]

Originally Posted by robertpasa

They were two guys wearing mostly white uniforms.

Weird. I have never seen any of these people before. The only time I got an infraction was on a train in Belgium. I had this Belgium 10 ride pass and forgot to fill out the card for that trip and a lady came by looking at cards and saw i never entered the info in. I explained that I just forgot and was on my way to the airport to go back home (the truth). She just said "I will turn an eye for you". I had my suitcase and everything, so it wasn't like I was just trying to save money.