Missing attendant=missed train=drive to work
So my wife and I are avid environmentalists. I try and take BART as much as possible to commute from Fremont to Berkeley and it takes me about 1.5 hours door-to-door(15 minutes to the station, 45 minutes train ride, 15 minutes from the station to office if the bus is waiting). So I leave home at 7.15am today (Spare-the-air and what-not), get to Fremont BART and of course my ticket has been "de-magnetized" and I need see the attendant. C'mon, this was a new ticket, in this day and age, cant you at least figure out how to make longer lasting tickets? Alright fine, lets just go to the attendant.........who of course is not there!! Finally the dude arrives after 5 minutes, and while my train is getting ready to leave, fills out the paperwork allowing me to ride the train, which promptly leaves just when I reach the platform. So here I am with a choice, either wait 15 minutes more for the next train, or just drive to work and reach on time. And of course, I need to spend time at either Bay Fair or Oakland station to get a new ticket, because BART in its infinite wisdom doesnt allow you to exchange tickets at all stations. This has happened plenty of times before, but today was the tipping point. I dont care anymore, driving saves me at least 1-1.5 hours everyday and even though I am willing to make the sacrifice, BART tries its best to make sure I lose even more time!!
Cant they ensure that there are attendants in the booth at least during rush hour (especially on a Spare-the-air day)? Cant the ticket quality be a little better? Cant I just change a bad ticket at any station? Am I asking for too much? Alright, deep breaths, deep breaths.
i agree with you 100% that
i agree with you 100% that EVERY station should have the ability to do ticket exchanges.
not sure about the ticket quality comment. I personally have never had a ticket get demagnetized, and i always purchase two $64 tickets at a time. this means the second ticket is sitting in my wallet for almost a full month before it is completely used up (and at least once a week my toddler rummages through my wallet and plays with the tickets too) and i have never had a demag problem. you say it has happened to you "plenty of times." maybe you need to review your ticket handling - do you use a magnetic money clip or something that might be the culprit?
I have wondered about that
I have wondered about that myself. The tickets typically sit in my wallet or a shelf at home for about a month and never get close to a magnetic source. So, I am not sure why they seem to get demagnetized so often.
Ticket Exchange locations are
Ticket Exchange locations are relatively new in BART years..
It used to only be done by mail, then the 21st century happened and purses, cell phones, etc have magnets now..
You can still do it by mail, but it's nice they keep opening exchanges at new stations... I have heard rumors that Richmond and Walnut Creek will get one..
I also remember the old ticket machines.. Public transportation = exact change... You used to have to put in the exact amount and usually stations only (maybe) had one machine that would give change.. There were several times I had only a 20 and had to buy a $20.00 ticket, or i drove to a gas station near my house..
Where was the attendant?
Where was the attendant? Smoke break? Coke break?
Yes on ticket exchanges. I
Yes on ticket exchanges. I would of waited the extra 15 minutes for the next train. Yes there should be an attendant there at all times or put up a sign saying "I'll be back in five minutes" or something to that affect.
the DHL office near my office
the DHL office near my office almost always has a "be back in 15 minutes" sign hanging in the window. i always wonder if he just hung the sign and will be back in 14 minutes, or maybe he hung the sign 14 minutes ago and will be back in one minute, or maybe he is going to be gone for 2 or 3 hours and figures no one will wait by the door anyway.
shouldn't there always be an attendant available? i realize they need to take breaks, but does that really mean the gates go unwatched while they pee or smoke?
Maybe these "hard" economic
Maybe these "hard" economic times warrant for just one attendee at a time. Look at San Bruno. There's always just one person there. There is no sign saying I'm on a pee break - be back in 5 or anything like that.
it would be trivial to make a
it would be trivial to make a "Be back in ..." sign with a countdown timer.
two thoughts, one you are
two thoughts, one you are corect, BART as an organisation did you NO favors, but, think a little more agressively. immediately buy a minimum ticket. get through the gate.
The 'lemon' ticket can wait.
Hallelujah! I thought I was
Hallelujah! I thought I was the only one that would have solved the problem this way. Then again, if no is around, just jump the gate. Who knows, when you get to the other station, maybe no one will be there either.
although if you are willing
although if you are willing to wait and are polite to the agent, they'll probably give you a voucher for a free ride. one of my co-workers went to embarcadero the other day to cash in her commuter check. they were out of $64 tickets, so they gave her a voucher for a free ride home that afternoon. not sure how a bart station ran out of tickets, but my coworker essentially made $3 off the deal.
i have been the receipient of at least $30 in free rides over the last 2 years for various reasons, most of which were related to my not-so-ez-rider card.
All I have to say
All I have to say is........EZ Rider, if you don't mind being on the waitlist. Hopefully, they will just adopt TransLink soon......
in the last year I have had
in the last year I have had EZ Rider, i have had to have the attendant "fix" my card twice.
The worst is when your ticket
The worst is when your ticket gets demagnetized and the attendant at Powell St. speaka no enga-rish. (True Story).
Also, the ones who do speak english usually seem to not give a rat's ass how or when you get home. As if it's all our fault, or something. I had one attendant tell me at 11pm at Powell Station to go buy another ticket. I lied and told her i had no money, just to see what she'd say. She said "you have to come back tomorrow" when the office is open to get a refund. So basically, if you are poor and have only one ticket, if it gets demagnetized, you sleep on the effin street, bro.
I commute to SF from Fremont
I commute to SF from Fremont and have been for over 8 years. I come in very early (5:30AM) and one day had to wait 30 minutes (my ticket was jammed in the entry gate) while I begged other passengers to look for the agent. I finally asked the newspaper vendor what the agent looked like and jumped the fence, knocked on the door marked "private" opened the door to the find the agent ASLEEP!!!!! Needless to say I was not very happy and now believe that all BART workers are lazy. I still haven't seen anyone associated with BART walk faster than a snail. Have you?
Since you ride so often and
Since you ride so often and seem to have trouble protecting your ticket from the environment, why don't you consider going with the EZ Rider system at BART and you will never have to worry with a paper ticket again. I have one and it even feeds itself from my bank account. All I have to do is get near the fare gates and the gates open for me. I don't even have to take it out of my wallet.
EZ Rider cards don't always
EZ Rider cards don't always work.
I always carry a backup
I always carry a backup ticket with round-trip fare from Union City to Downtown SF. I draw down the $48 ticket to where I can add $$ to it.
That way, if my main ticket goes bad, I can deal with it when I have the time.
I've only had one ticket go bad on me in 13+ years of riding BART, so I'm probably carrying the extra ticket for no good reason. Other than it makes me feel a little more secure.