(The Stamford Advocate posted the following article by Jonathan Lucas on its website on may 1.)
STAMFORD, Conn. — Starting today, Metro-North Railroad passengers who buy their tickets on board trains will face surcharges that could more than double the cost of the standard fares.
Metro-North is implementing the on-board surcharge that will add $2.75 to $3.50 to every ticket purchased from a conductor at the same time a 25 percent fare hike is taking effect for commuters in New York.
A proposed 15 percent fare hike in Connecticut is scheduled to be implemented July 1.
Less than one-third of all daily tickets are issued on board, but commuter advocates are concerned the new policy will speed the elimination of ticket agents at stations and criticized Metro-North for its lack of notice to the public.
Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the new surcharge is intended to discourage riders from buying tickets on board and encourage them to buy tickets in advance.
The railroad has installed ticket vending machines at most of its stations and offers discount incentives to passengers who purchase tickets through its Web site or the mail.
“On-board ticket sales are the least efficient way of selling tickets that exists today,” Anders said. “The cost of selling tickets over the Web is virtually nothing.”
Anders said on-board ticket sales also take more time for conductors to issue and reconcile at the end of each shift.
“In this go-around of fare increases, we decided to rethink the whole way we go about selling tickets,” Anders said. “Instead of a flat $2 penalty for purchasing tickets on the train, we decided one way to deter on-board sales and encourage advance sales was to raise the surcharge.”
Since the introduction of the vending machines, on-board ticket sales have declined from $50 million worth in 2001 to $40 million last year, Anders said.
However, Rodney Chabot, chairman of the Connecticut Metro North-Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, said the ticket machines are replacing ticket agents in some smaller stations, leaving infrequent or technologically challenged passengers little choice but to pay the surcharges.
“I don’t like doing away with the ticket agents because it becomes an excuse for charging the penalty,” Chabot said. “All we’re left with is an impersonal machine in the rain and cold and snow and no ticket agent to answer questions or provide information.”
Commuter Council Vice Chairman Jim Cameron said he supports the railroad’s initiative to control personnel costs but criticized Metro-North for inadequately notifying the public of the surcharge.
“My real issue is the way the whole policy change has been communicated, or not communicated, to riders,” Cameron said, noting that the commuter council was informed of the change last week.
Cameron said the New York fare hike and the surcharge have combined to create confusion among the public and the railroad’s employees, who have disseminated conflicting information about the new policies.
Metro-North officials said they have done everything possible to inform the public, including on-board announcements, press releases and seat notices. But they noted exceptions in the new policy could create confusion.
For example, the surcharge will not be imposed on passengers at any of the stations on the New Canaan, Danbury or Waterbury branches where there are no ticket vending machines; and in stations where the machines are only on the New York-bound side, eastbound passengers will be charged $1 for on-board purchases.
Cameron said he has been quizzing conductors about the new policy and has received a variety of answers.Railroad customers who believe they were overcharged should pay the disputed fare and contact the commuter council at the following e-mail address: trains@camcomm.com.
Riders should include the name of the conductor and the date and time of the incident, he said.
“The point is that (Metro-North) has not sufficiently communicated the new rules to their own personnel, let alone to commuters,” Cameron said.