How exactly do the NJ Transit seat checks work? (Newark: live in, homeless)

[Aleuro]

How does the conductor know it's your stop when he walks by the seat check or when you first arrive in a train station? (As if he is doing regular seat checks like they should)

I have seen most of the conductors punch out holes on a daily basis, fold my actual ticket and punch it through (as seen below in the photos). Sometimes they don't even do anything and just leave it.

I'm curious seeing how this is done.

I live in Middletown, NJ and usually always take stops directly to New York Penn and most of the time they never do anything to my ticket.

[GoHuskies]

The conductor places little tickets above each seat which indicates the destination for passengers.

[jaymoney]

I think it's also based mostly on what the individual conductors feel like so they can keep track. Sometimes it's a fold or a rip or a punch but I can't figure out their system. But then, that's not my job, they can and that's what matters.

[Blackjack2000]

Originally Posted by Aleuro

How does the conductor know it's your stop when he walks by the seat check or when you first arrive in a train station? (As if he is doing regular seat checks like they should)

I have seen most of the conductors punch out holes on a daily basis, fold my actual ticket and punch it through (as seen below in the photos). Sometimes they don't even do anything and just leave it.

I'm curious seeing how this is done.

I live in Middletown, NJ and usually always take stops directly to New York Penn and most of the time they never do anything to my ticket.

It's not exact, but on the inbound trains 99% of the riders are going to the train's final destination, New York Penn or Hoboken or Newark Penn. When you get on the train, the conductors check your ticket and puts the slip on your seat so they know they checked. They only need to make special note if you're not going to one of those three places.


This all varies by circumstance. For example: the train I rode this morning picked me up in South Orange, where a lot of people catch the train, then went to Mountain Station, where another huge load of people get on. But South Orange and Mountain Station are the same zone, so the conductors don't bother checking tickets until all the Mountain Station people are on, and there's 10 minutes or so before it gets to Broad Street Newark. There are only a few people who get on at BSN, so they don't use seat slips for most of the riders, they just check everyone's ticket and give them a slip if they're getting off at Broad Street. Then they watch who gets on the train at Broad Street and check their tickets. Done. Hoboken is the last stop.


Outbound is a little more complicated, riders are going to different zones and the conductor needs to keep track of who is going where to make sure people don't overextend their tickets. They probably all have their own systems, but I think the system that makes the most sense is to mark riders as follows:


Most popular destination zone (Summit, etc.) - no seat slip at all (but how do they know they checked? Easy, they check everyone's at the beginning, and then they watch who gets on the train at the later stops because it's only a few people)
2nd Most popular destination zone - blank seat slip
3rd Most popular zone - folded seat slip
4th Most popular - seat slip with a tear down the middle


This avoids having to use the punch, and is the fastest system.


(Yeah, I ride the trains a lot and watch the conductors, and this is how I assume it works. I'd love to hear an actual NJT conductor confirm it though )

[ansky]

I have noticed this on Amtrak too. It seems everyone gets the same seat check no matter where they are going. I have no idea how they keep track of where each person is going.

As a side note, I once took the train from DC back to NJ. When the train stopped in Wilmington a guy got on that appeared to be homeless. He walked right onto the train, headed for the bathroom, and then stayed in the bathroom for about 30 minutes until the train arrived in Philly. So he basically got a free ride from Wilmington to Philly and the conductors never knew a thing. Obviously this is a major security issue.

[daliowa]

Originally Posted by ansky

I have noticed this on Amtrak too. It seems everyone gets the same seat check no matter where they are going. I have no idea how they keep track of where each person is going.

As a side note, I once took the train from DC back to NJ. When the train stopped in Wilmington a guy got on that appeared to be homeless. He walked right onto the train, headed for the bathroom, and then stayed in the bathroom for about 30 minutes until the train arrived in Philly. So he basically got a free ride from Wilmington to Philly and the conductors never knew a thing. Obviously this is a major security issue.

I've seen this happen on NJ Transit also. One time the guy got caught by the conductor because someone complained they couldn't get in to the bathroom. Another time the guy stayed in the bathroom all the way to NYC.

I just happened to see these two because my seat was near the bathroom on those trips. It probably happens all the time. NJ Transit tix are very expensive, so in a way I understand & feel sorry for someone who has to do this.