I'm a Caltrain Criminal Customer
Posted by Phil Aaronson at 5:47 PM
I hate being treated like a criminal by Caltrain conductors. I hate becoming one because there's no way to buy a ticket on the train. You must buy your ticket at a vending machine at the station. The tickets are time stamped, so you can't buy three or four ahead. There is a 10 ride ticket option, but you need to validate them (get them punched) by another machine at the station so there's not much difference. The 10 ride is datestamped as well, and only good for a few weeks.
I use Caltrain on rainy days to get to work. I ride my bicycle, on the nice ones, which is most of the time. This morning it was raining and as luck would have it, train 234 came ~5 minutes early to the San Antonio station. It pulled in just as I was walking onto the platform. In that instant I had a choice, do I miss the train and wait an additional 40 minutes or do I jump on the train? This is pretty much my choice. I'm only going one stop (to Mtn View), and I've got to get to work, so I jump on the train. The white haired, white bearded conductor watching this immediately asks if I have a ticket. I pull out a wad of my old tickets (its been raining a fair amount lately), and say, "no. I don't."
Conductor: Get off the train.
Me: Will you wait for me to get a ticket?
Conductor: No. Get here earlier.
Me: But you're 5 minutes early!
Conductor: Get off the train.
Me: Thanks a hell of a lot.
So there you have it. One more somewhat regular customer left with a bad taste in his mouth. Thanks for the 40 minute wait for the next train. All because I can't buy my ticket on the train for a reasonable price. Instead I guess I'm expected to play cat and mouse on the days when they show up early, or when I'm running late. And I should be grateful I didn't get a $89 fine. But I'm not feeling terribly grateful.
My car driving co-workers think I'm crazy. I'm beginning to think they're right.
I think the simplest solution is to offer a 10 ride ticket that's good for three months, and put the darn validator on the train. So if I'm running late I can just hop on. Or move to a BART like system. But it'll never happen.
I use Caltrain on rainy days to get to work. I ride my bicycle, on the nice ones, which is most of the time. This morning it was raining and as luck would have it, train 234 came ~5 minutes early to the San Antonio station. It pulled in just as I was walking onto the platform. In that instant I had a choice, do I miss the train and wait an additional 40 minutes or do I jump on the train? This is pretty much my choice. I'm only going one stop (to Mtn View), and I've got to get to work, so I jump on the train. The white haired, white bearded conductor watching this immediately asks if I have a ticket. I pull out a wad of my old tickets (its been raining a fair amount lately), and say, "no. I don't."
Conductor: Get off the train.
Me: Will you wait for me to get a ticket?
Conductor: No. Get here earlier.
Me: But you're 5 minutes early!
Conductor: Get off the train.
Me: Thanks a hell of a lot.
So there you have it. One more somewhat regular customer left with a bad taste in his mouth. Thanks for the 40 minute wait for the next train. All because I can't buy my ticket on the train for a reasonable price. Instead I guess I'm expected to play cat and mouse on the days when they show up early, or when I'm running late. And I should be grateful I didn't get a $89 fine. But I'm not feeling terribly grateful.
My car driving co-workers think I'm crazy. I'm beginning to think they're right.
I think the simplest solution is to offer a 10 ride ticket that's good for three months, and put the darn validator on the train. So if I'm running late I can just hop on. Or move to a BART like system. But it'll never happen.
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