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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Muni Fare Inspectors: Wasting Tax Dollars by Inspecting Ballpark Passengers TWICE


Today (Sunday) was the final game of a three game series of the Giants vs. the A's, and the game was really fun to watch, but as we all know, once the game is over, it is dreading it back on public transit or walking home.

As many people who ride Muni metro back from the game know, you must pre-pay your fare (before or after the game) and show your transfer or pass to the fare inspector before you are able to step foot on the platform.

These procedures have been the norm since AT&T Park first opened in 1999, but...

It is totally stupid to also have fare inspectors at Embarcadero station to check [the mostly] ballpark passengers leaving that station too. They did this TODAY. Everyone was already checked upon entering the ballpark platform, so it really defeats the purpose of checking again at Embarcadero where people transfer to BART.

Why not send those lazy bastards over to another station where there is a good possibility of writing tickets for a fare cheats vs. the near zero possibility of writing a ticket to the ballpark fans who were just checked five minutes ago?

For f*** sake, there were THREE checking for proof of payment at just ONE of the TWO faregate areas in the station.

And you wonder why SFMTA/Muni is raising transit fares and passes, eliminating/cutting/modifying bus service, raising parking garage and meter fees, and sticking a $3 fee on parking tickets; MUNI IS MANAGED BY A BUNCH OF IDIOTS!

TERMINATE THE SUPERVISOR WHO ORDERED THEM TO MONITOR EMBARACADERO STATION AFTER A GIANTS GAME JUST ENDED. IT'S CALLED COMMON SENSE; if you don't have it, then you shouldn't have a job.

(Photo by Flickr user: kelsey* using a Creative Commons License)

3 comments:

troymccluresf said...

I have a related problem… How are us Translink users supposed to tag our cards when the train is too crowded to even reach the Translink machine. Even if you remember which door to use, there's often three or four people bunched up around it. This is always a problem after games, but I had the same problem heading out on the N from Duboce on Friday.

@SF311 was no help.

Akit said...

troymccluresf:

You make an excellent point. Muni and Translink hasn't worked-out a plan for AT&T Park fans with Translink cards to pay for their fare before entering the platform.

I would pay using Translink than using the "Muni to BART" coupon because my pre-taxed commuter checks lowers the price of a Muni ride about eight cents than paying the discounted $1.25. But my fare could even go LOWER if (and when) Translink is operational on BART.

Just wondering... if you waived your card at the fare inspector at the AT&T Park metro platform entrance, would they just wave you through?

troymccluresf said...

They do wave you through, I've done it several times with no problem. The hard part is just actually swiping the thing once you're on the train.