Originally Posted by
fairviewroad
You do get a higher level of service. You get where you're going faster and with fewer stops. You're far more likely to get an actual seat on a train. And even at un-staffed stations you have a covered area to wait, out of the rain (I'm sure there are some exceptions, and I also realize that some bus stops offer this, but the majority do not).
Maybe I wasn't clear with my previous post, I agree that a train has a much higher level of service than a bus. The point I was trying to make was that one of those services is being able to buy on board w/o a surcharge at stations where you can't buy tickets.
Originally Posted by
fairviewroad
I do agree that it is the industry standard, and I also agree that this is the type of thing that will be a turn off to occasional riders, but regular SEPTA users won't really be phased by this after the initial learning curve. And I suspect that if money were not an issue, SEPTA would be buying new ticket machines for every station.
Well I'll be honest here I only use SEPTA for the R1 to the airport and I will continue to take it as long as it is cheaper than a cab to 30th st.
Originally Posted by
fairviewroad
Instead of thinking of it as a penalty for buying on board, think of it instead as being an advance-purchase discount. Most sectors of the travel industry offer discounts for purchasing tickets in advance.
The only place I really see this as being unfair is for passengers arriving at PHL, who don't really have a good way of purchasing tickets in advance.
The R1 use to cost the same buy on board as buy in advance price. I think they did this because they realized they were charging a huge airport premium.