At North Station yesterday, waiting for a train to Maine, I noticed that the damned ticket harrassers are back. It seems to me that with commuter rail ridership at 10% of what it used to be, the MBTA's problem is more empty seats than fare evasion, and they should be going out of their way not to annoy the few customers they still have.
The commuter rail ticket situation is laughable. Someone showed me how easy it is to avoid paying for more than one ticket a month. I wonder how many regular commuters are doing that and how that factors into the MBTA finances.
That said, $420 a month is a lot of money for a commuter rail pass.