Broken Ticket Machines On Select Bus Service Lines Result In Hefty Fines
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The Select Bus Service was supposed to speed riders' commutes, but some passengers ended up on an unexpected express route to a hefty fine for supposedly cheating the system. NY1's Transit reporter Tina Redwine filed the following report. Back in October, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority started the super express Select Bus Service to speed buses along First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, a notoriously slow route.
The agency says it has shortened the ride between South Ferry and East 125th Street by more than 16 minutes, by having dedicated bus-only lanes and by having having passengers pay before getting on the bus.
Passengers swipe a MetroCard through a vending machine and get a ticket as proof they paid, but sometimes the machine does not work.
When Aaron Goldberg rode the M15 without a ticket because both machines at his stop were broken, he got a summons during a random check, even though he has a monthly unlimited-ride MetroCard.
"I am upset, because as a paying MTA customer, I should not be subjected to a $100 summons when I have proof I didn't steal services that I'm being accused of stealing," said Goldberg.
Judy Finkelstein said the machines were also out at 88th and Second Avenue, where she boarded last week, and she also got hit with a summons.
"They treated you like you were a common criminal, like you were purposely trying to beat a fare, when you're not. Especially when you have your MetroCard out," said Finkelstein.
MTA officials said those machines, which also are on the Bx12 SBS route Fordham Road in the Bronx, are working at least 90 percent of the time.
A NY1 crew did not find any machines that were broken. However, MTA officials admitted the vending machines in question were out of order and agreed that Goldberg did not deserve a summons.
However, the agency said Goldberg said he still will have to go before the Transit Adjudication Bureau in Brooklyn for a hearing.
Goldberg said that is not good enough.
"I hope someone in the right position will help me dismiss this so I won't have to miss a day of work," he said.
If Goldberg goes to the hearing, NY1 will follow and report on how it turns out.