In each of these places the MUNI systems are run much better, even in Poland
and Prague.
I think what is going on with the SFPD enforcing the new rules is similar to
the system in place in Eastern Europe. In Western European countries, you
buy a ticket, put it through a slot, like a fast pass here, and the doors or
gates to the underground stairs open for you. However, in Berlin, Munich,
Prague, and Krakow, it relies on an honor system. This is a disaster
waiting to happen.
In Prague, you buy a ticket, get it stamped before entering the underground
area, and there usually are "transit officers" waiting often at the next
station to check your ticket. If you are a minute or two over the time
allowed on the ticket, the officer demands 200 Krona (about 6$, but that's a
lot of cash in Prague) on the spot. If you don't have it, they demand
American money, or they can take you down to the station. It's a bit of a
racket. When I was accosted on a train for the first time by the Transit
gestapo, I thought he was a homeless man because they are in plain clothes.
I refused to even listen to him after he demanded "something" (I wasn't sure
what) and we almost had a serious altercation until he asked someone else
and they showed him their pass. Then I figured it out, much to the
amusement of the other passengers.
At first I thought that would be a wonderful way to do things. I thought
about why we don't have a system like that here, and I believe it won't work
because Americans are much more likely to refuse to pay the fine if they
feel they are in the right. This is a setup for some extremely nasty
situations. The stories in today's digest would have been different if
someone a little more belligerent had gotten on the bus, unaware of the
changes made, yet still facing a demand to pay a ticket for getting on a bus
with no driver. My first inclination is that I would be one of those who
would refuse to pay, especially if I knew I was in the right. In Prague,
the ticket checkers look like ex-KGB agents who are relegated to checking
people's tickets. Apparently in Poland it's the same way, although the
checkers are much rarer there. In 4 days in Munich I didn't run into a
single ticket checker, even though I dutifully bought ticket strips. How
they pay for their system is beyond me. No one buys tickets apparently
except tourists.
In my opinion, setting up situations where enraged, frustrated, or ignorant
riders must confront an officer or a Muni official and be ticketed is a
recipe for disaster.