Light Rail 101

This posting is a public service to everyone in the Twin Cities who tries to ride the light rail without a ticket. They've started ticketing more often lately and, despite the steep $180 fine, people seem to be slow to catch on to how the system works.

See, the cop-looking guy in the bright yellow vest gets on the train at random stops (note: he does not check those getting off the train) and once the train starts moving he checks everyone's ticket. If you are on the train and do not have a ticket you get one free warning where they take down your name, and after that, you pay $180.

If you read that carefully, you might have already figured out a way to ride without getting caught - simply look ahead to the station in front of you and get off the train if you see one of the transit cop guys getting on. Wait for the next train. You lose 7-10 minutes (depending on the time of day) but you save $180.

You'd think people would get this. That you'd see a mad dash of people getting off the train each time a ticket checker gets onboard. But no. Over the last week alone, I've seen at least 4 people getting $180 tickets. Guy in yellow vest gets on. They stay seated. They get caught. Now since they're getting tickets, this means they've already had this happen to them once. Why is this so complicated?

Me? I have a pass from school. But I'm sick of watching people get tickets. So come on, get smart, people.