SEPTA providing free trips

Can anyone explain the logic behind a SEPTA conductor providing me with a free ride for my two kids on the way to the auto show this morning? I appreciate the kind gesture but I wonder why they are giving free rides when they are constantly broke. FTR I am white and the conductor was black.

On Regional Rail, up to 2 children age 4 or under with a fare paying adult can ride free at all times. Children aged 5 to 11 are supposed to be changed 1/2'of the weekday adult fare; however, as a daily Lansdale-Doylestown line rider, I rarely see conductors collect fares from them-especially on offpeak trains.

(BTW I also call Collegeville home.)

It's common for conductors, drivers, and operators to let kids of 1/2 price (Or full fare on city transit) age ride free. I've experienced this in Chicago, New York, New Orleans, LA, Boston, SEPTA, and on NJT. It's a kind gesture that usually doesn't get any attention or concern from anyone normal.

There are plenty of examples of wasteful spending by transit agencies, im sure some free rides for kids is just a piss in the ocean of wasted money. Of all the things septa screws up, you really need an explanation for two free trips for kids?

And FTR, the money is green but yellow when wasted in a blue ocean. Seriously, what does you being white and the conductor black have anything to do with this? And what about the two kids? Are they white, yellow, red, green, purple, pink, silver, gold, blue, lavender, or grey?

One time I got charged child fare going from jenkintown to west trenton despite telling the conductor I was 14 when he asked.

roadmaster wrote:It's common for conductors, drivers, and operators to let kids of 1/2 price (Or full fare on city transit) age ride free. I've experienced this in Chicago, New York, New Orleans, LA, Boston, SEPTA, and on NJT. It's a kind gesture that usually doesn't get any attention or concern from anyone normal.

There are plenty of examples of wasteful spending by transit agencies, im sure some free rides for kids is just a piss in the ocean of wasted money. Of all the things septa screws up, you really need an explanation for two free trips for kids?

And FTR, the money is green but yellow when wasted in a blue ocean. Seriously, what does you being white and the conductor black have anything to do with this? And what about the two kids? Are they white, yellow, red, green, purple, pink, silver, gold, blue, lavender, or grey?

What a crotchety response. I am simply suggesting that an agency that is habitually broke might want to be a little more lenient with the free trips. Is that a bad idea to you? Sorry if that makes me not "normal".

And I didn't want anyone playing a race card in their response. And my kids, like me, are white.

BPP1999 wrote:

roadmaster wrote:It's common for conductors, drivers, and operators to let kids of 1/2 price (Or full fare on city transit) age ride free. I've experienced this in Chicago, New York, New Orleans, LA, Boston, SEPTA, and on NJT. It's a kind gesture that usually doesn't get any attention or concern from anyone normal.

There are plenty of examples of wasteful spending by transit agencies, im sure some free rides for kids is just a piss in the ocean of wasted money. Of all the things septa screws up, you really need an explanation for two free trips for kids?

And FTR, the money is green but yellow when wasted in a blue ocean. Seriously, what does you being white and the conductor black have anything to do with this? And what about the two kids? Are they white, yellow, red, green, purple, pink, silver, gold, blue, lavender, or grey?

What a crotchety response. I am simply suggesting that an agency that is habitually broke might want to be a little more lenient with the free trips. Is that a bad idea to you? Sorry if that makes me not "normal".

And I didn't want anyone playing a race card in their response. And my kids, like me, are white.

BPP:

What SEPTA is offering here is known as a "incentive fare" to help encourage ridership. A special event
such as the Auto Show can offer other discounts to riders such as lower priced admission tickets.

The response that Roadmaster offered - which was a VERY good one - shows how ludicrous that this topic
actually is and that race has absolutely NOTHING whatsoever to do with it.

Let me ask you this: If your two kids had to pay full adult fares would you have still used the train?

You should contact SEPTA Customer Service with this issue instead of posting it here at a rail enthusiast site.
Bring up the race card and see how far it gets you...

This topic should be locked up right here.

MACTRAXX

I'm new to this board so not aware if there are any standing racial issues or any past abuse of playing with cards. My question still stands. How does you being white and the conductor black matter in this situation? I do not see how mentioning this would prevent any insinuation of card playing, no matter what has taken place in the past You were at the recieving end of a kind gesture, not a negative act. What normal person would see this as a potential racial issue that requires a preemptive disclosure of the races?

i see you live in the area and have been a member on this board for years. I assume that if intetested in trains, being a member on this board, live in the area, and do not live in a hole 99% of the time, you would have a basic understanding and breadth of septas real wasteful spending on capital projects and the actaul cause of funding issues for operations. With this in mind, your need to think a kind gesture towards you may spark accusations of playing a race card, and being concerened about a few free trips for kids, yes your initial post is very abnormal

SITE ADMIN: I'll leave the report up for the moderator to deal with, but let's all move on from the race issue. The OP may have felt it pertinent to disclose out of an abundance of caution; let's leave it at that and move on. We don't need to belabor the point; IMHO the bigger issue is non-collection of fares regardless of race.

Thanks.

roadmaster wrote:I'm new to this board so not aware if there are any standing racial issues or any past abuse of playing with cards. My question still stands. How does you being white and the conductor black matter in this situation? I do not see how mentioning this would prevent any insinuation of card playing, no matter what has taken place in the past You were at the recieving end of a kind gesture, not a negative act. What normal person would see this as a potential racial issue that requires a preemptive disclosure of the races?

i see you live in the area and have been a member on this board for years. I assume that if intetested in trains, being a member on this board, live in the area, and do not live in a hole 99% of the time, you would have a basic understanding and breadth of septas real wasteful spending on capital projects and the actaul cause of funding issues for operations. With this in mind, your need to think a kind gesture towards you may spark accusations of playing a race card, and being concerened about a few free trips for kids, yes your initial post is very abnormal

I'm not playing a race card. And I'm not implying a race card was played on me by the conductor (and, if you read my original post, I said "I appreciate the kind gesture"). I was simply trying to keep people from saying "your kids only got free rides because you are "white/black/etc." and the conductor was "white/black/etc." I have heard comments like this before and I didn't want it to go there. You have read racism into this situation, not me.

I was posting my question here because I thought I would actually incite meaningful responses from people who know more about trains than me or the average person. Instead it generated anger and resentment which I don't understand. And yes, I got on the train expecting to pay half-fare for my kids, not expecting free fare for my kids (which was good for me but simply adds to SEPTA's lack of money).

Jeff Smith wrote:SITE ADMIN: I'll leave the report up for the moderator to deal with, but let's all move on from the race issue. The OP may have felt it pertinent to disclose out of an abundance of caution; let's leave it at that and move on. We don't need to belabor the point; IMHO the bigger issue is non-collection of fares regardless of race.

Thanks.

Thanks for the reasonable response. My OP had nothing to do with race.

Jeff Smith's last sentence sums my point up nicely: "the bigger issue is non-collection of fares." If people on this site are going to get their feathers ruffled for this question, I don't know what to say. I would have been happy to pay the half-fare rate, round-trip, for both of my kids to take the train to the auto show. Did you ever consider that when I got on the train, I was - get this - expecting to pay the half-fare rate for both my kids? To me, at least, a half-fare is the railroad industry's way of giving people a price break. Providing free fare when half-fare is in order doesn't make sense to me.

BPP1999 wrote:

roadmaster wrote:I'm new to this board so not aware if there are any standing racial issues or any past abuse of playing with cards. My question still stands. How does you being white and the conductor black matter in this situation? I do not see how mentioning this would prevent any insinuation of card playing, no matter what has taken place in the past You were at the recieving end of a kind gesture, not a negative act. What normal person would see this as a potential racial issue that requires a preemptive disclosure of the races?

i see you live in the area and have been a member on this board for years. I assume that if intetested in trains, being a member on this board, live in the area, and do not live in a hole 99% of the time, you would have a basic understanding and breadth of septas real wasteful spending on capital projects and the actaul cause of funding issues for operations. With this in mind, your need to think a kind gesture towards you may spark accusations of playing a race card, and being concerened about a few free trips for kids, yes your initial post is very abnormal

I'm not playing a race card. And I'm not implying a race card was played on me by the conductor (and, if you read my original post, I said "I appreciate the kind gesture"). I was simply trying to keep people from saying "your kids only got free rides because you are "white/black/etc." and the conductor was "white/black/etc." I have heard comments like this before and I didn't want it to go there. You have read racism into this situation, not me.

BPP: Simple question - Why then did you bring it up?

MACTRAXX

BPP1999 wrote: I was simply trying to keep people from saying "your kids only got free rides because you are "white/black/etc." and the conductor was "white/black/etc."

Really? You honestly think that a normal person would raise this issue in response for letting kids ride free on an off peak train?

kids should always ride free. now the fares they fauiled to collect from me as an adult are a different story

Suburban Station wrote:kids should always ride free. now the fares they fauiled to collect from me as an adult are a different story

I agree. This is an issue more prevalent and significantly more wasteful. I routinely see car loads of free rides. I do understand in some situations many have weekly/monthly passes so the loss is not as much as the eye can see. Just ride off-peak when there is a big event going on or be on a five car train with only three cars open with standees filling up the aisles. All Free free free!

NPT should solve the issue of not being able to physically collect fares - if it ever gets off the ground. And this is a good example of wasteful spending. instead of using proven technologies for fare collection, septa is trying to reinvent the wheel. The new system is complicated, full of bugs, way behind schedule, and in pure septa fashion, the PM that was leading the project quit septa and is now working for the company developing the system. For how much this is costing septa up till now and in the future, everybody could ride free for years.

I'm closing this thread. Race is completely irrelevant.