Ticket machines

Does anyone know if there are any plans to install the River line ticket machines on the HBLRT line? The HBLRT ticket machines take a long time to print. I usually buy 10 at a time, and it means I'm holding up the machine for almost 2 minutes (I suppose that's not terrible in the grand scheme of life and the cosmos, but it can be inconvenient, especially if there's a line of people waiting to buy tickets). When I rode the River Line, I was impressed how quickly the tickets were printed.

HBLRT and River Line are operated by two different companies, 21st Century Rail and Southern NJ Light Rail Group LLC respectively. Although I may be in error, I get the impression that it is those entities that decide what ticket machines are used on their respective operations.

As for any plans to do what you are asking about, I would guess that NJT would announce such on their site. If you don't see such an announcement, then it's a safe bet to presume that the current HBLRT machines will remain until they wear out. Try contacting NJT customer service and see what they have to say on the matter.

The companies that operate the Light Rail systems have nothing to do with the TVM's or the fare struture and enforcement.

That part is up to NJT.

How did the DBOMs end up with unique fare structures in that case? Remember the meaning of the DBOM acronym: Design, Build, Operate, Maintain. They have more to do with it, I suspect, than commonly thought—note that 21st Century Rail in particular does not have a common ticketing transfer policy between itself and NJT buses nor NJT rail.

I'm not discounting NJT's involvement out of hand; certainly, they are known for very odd (to put it mildly) decisions...

Following up on this. The Lincoln Harbor station has the same type of TVM's as the River Line. They print faster and the printout is signifcantly better (not the "dot matrix" type of printing on the other tickets). I am assuming that 2nd St. and 9th st. have these TVMs as well. Good job by NJT to take River Line's successful technology and apply it to HBLRT. I'd like them to retrofit the original stations, but at least they're doing it right going forward.