Listening to an MBTA employee yesterday on an inbound D line, I’m gathering that the T’s “Show and Go” program is not much longer for this world. For those unfamiliar, it’s an honor system of sorts in which the inbound trolley lines open all doors instead of just the first one. Those with monthly passes simply hold them up while boarding, whereas those with tokens or change go to the first door and pay the collector. Sometimes an MBTA employee is at the station to monitor, sometimes not. Of course, in the case of the latter, riders will attempt to free-ride by getting on in back without a pass. The loss of fares is leading the MBTA to stop the program.
I’m not privy to the T’s rationale here (simply overhearing one of the Show and Go Police), but I’m a little confused. Didn’t they expect free-loaders? Maybe it’s an issue of more free-loading than they expected, but I’m not sure how they could measure that, as fares could be (and likely are) down for other reasons. The T has to make some trade-off between money spent and commute efficiency gained, and ultimately it doesn’t matter if the money is spent on more drivers, better cars, etc. or through a few lost fares. But historically, they’ve been of such a mindset that only understands the supply part but not value of selectively forgoing fares. Or, maybe they’ve decided that given their fiscal crisis, they’re going for every fare possible, efficiency be damned.
Anyway, you won’t be surprised to find that I think the Show and Go program has been a good thing and that getting rid of it would be folly. Crowded streetcars simply don’t function efficiently during rush hour: they cause delays and the drivers end up blaming the passengers for not moving back into the car, even when there’s no room. Maybe it’s all a rumor - no word at Bad Transit after all. Maybe I need to get Starts and Stops on the job?
And is this the right time to reiterate my request that MBTA higher-ups actually commute to work by their own system?
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