Before I get into details, I will say that if someone cannot afford a train ticket, what I’m about to describe would not be a scam. No, Sir. It would be a “survival tactic,” and we should all forgive a person who does it. This is the new, kinder and gentler TheTrainInVain blog. We’re all about rainbows, unicorns, and kumbaya.
Now for the story.
Wait. Before I get to
the story, I need to explain something to the non-commuting readers. Conductors manage commuter trains,
particularly those that run with frequent stops, using “seat check cards.” See the picture below.
 |
| A seat check card, as used on Metro-North. All the major railroads use them. |
Conductors place these seat check cards in a slot near a row
of seats. They punch holes in them to
indicate who in the row paid a fare. At
each stop, people get on and off. The
conductor then uses a combination of face recognition and the punched cards to
determine who needs to pay a fare. It’s
not a perfect system, but it works.
Conductors use different colored seat
check cards and different shaped hole punches each day. See example of different holes in the picture below.
 |
| Holes on a ticket, made by various hole punchers |
So now, the story. Yahska
was on the train one morning. Several
stops after he got on, a man boarded and sat down in an empty row. He pulled a punched seat card out of his
pocket, and put it in the slot in front of him.
When the conductor came by, he saw the punched card, and kept
going. The man didn’t have to pay a
fare.
How did this man know the punch style and card color of the
day? Could he have been an insider who was tipped off? Maybe.
But if not, that is one gutsy scam.
The conductor could have been using any colored card or hole punch type.
Perhaps this man cracked the NJ Transit card and hole punch system methodology. If so, why is he wasting his talent on the
small time? He should go work for the US
Government and intercept enemy encrypted messages. Think about it. A guy who just wants to go from Edison, NJ to
NYC without paying for the trip could potentially prop up our national security.
Yahska told me he would have liked to see the man called out
for theft of services. But, he also made
clear that if the man was down on his luck, his perspective would have changed by
180 degrees to forgiveness. After sharing
his story with me, Yahska rode away on his unicorn, toward a rainbow, singing
kumbaya.
Happy commuting, and may you encounter uncommon sense.
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Happy commuting, and may you encounter uncommon sense.
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Twitter: @davidrtrainguy
Sign up for the blog mailing list by entering your email address in the box that says "Follow By E-Mail."
Someone once told me that if a street performer made you stop and watch, you owe him a buck. I like to think there's an analogous rule on the Internet. If you read this post and it made you smile, would you give the blog a Facebook "Like?" It's here on the page, you'll find it at the bottom of the screen. Thanks!
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