by JohnFromJersey
lensovet wrote: ↑Tue Nov 05, 2024 8:21 pm I don't think the line could be profitable. The density is simply not there. The clientele is not exactly rich either.The River LINE does get better usage than some of NJT's heavy rail lines. IIRC it gets just about 3 million, more or less, riders a year. That's not terrible...
As for the clientele not being rich, I'm sure raising the fares from two dollars to say five won't chase a ton of people away. Still cheaper than driving.
lensovet wrote: ↑Tue Nov 05, 2024 8:21 pm It's a POP system (join us over in the other thread to argue that to death), so there is no ticket checking, only sporadic enforcement. The fine is "up to" $100. I'm not entirely clear how the revenue sharing works, because NJT (not Alstom) sells the ticket, NJT hires and pays salaries for the fare enforcement, and presumably NJT collects the fines (if they are ever able to collect them). That said, I've seen people clearly commuting to work in suits not bothering to activate their tickets until the fare inspectors show up. It's 2024 and people feel entitled to get things for free for some reason.Ah, that makes sense why this line makes no money then. That's pretty bad.
I've seen a lot of people unironically say that all public transit should be free simply because it's "public." People just want free stuff