🚀 go-pugleaf

Sometime, somewhere, Rob Means <rm@delphi-int.org> wrote:
: In article <4ov2o6$ovn@news2.cais.com> triathln@cais2.cais.com (Jason Mayfield) writes:
: >From: triathln@cais2.cais.com (Jason Mayfield)
: >Subject: Re: Metrocard Gripe
: >Date: 3 Jun 1996 16:09:42 GMT
: 
: >Dennis A. Sutch (dsutch@cais.cais.com) wrote:
: 
: >: I don't remember the charge, but I remember not using my fare card when
: >: exiting the system (there were just too many people to get through the
: >: gates). I do know that on July 4 the Metro system does away with the
: >: fare cards and collects a reduced fare (1 dollar or less?).
: 
: >This is incorrect.  I took the metro last fourth, to the mall (Smithsonian
: >station) and still had to use my card and pay the normal non-rush fare of
: >$1.10.  If they did this, it must have been a very limited time.
: 
: In Metro's early years (up to about the mid '80s, maybe), they didn't use 
: farecards on July 4th and days when there was a big demonstration on the 
: Mall.  Farecard machines were more prone to breaking down, and with big 
: crowds they were afraid that they would have no working machines.
: 
: Instead, they positioned large metal barrels near the gates, and everyone 
: was supposed to throw fifty cents in.  The gates were just left open, so it 
: more or less amounted to the honor system.  At the time, the normal base 
: fare was in the area of fifty-sixty cents.
: 
: They apparently have more confidence in the farecard machines now than 
: they did then, and haven't used the barrel system for July 4th in several 
: years.  A previous newsgroup entry said that they used it for 
: Inauguration Day in 1993, but that's news to me.  I know they didn't use 
: it for the Million Man March last October or for the Stand for Children 
: demonstration last weekend.
: 
: 
: 
: Rob Means
: Delphi International
: 1090 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
: Seventh Floor
: Washington, DC  20005
: Tel.:  202/898-0960, ext. 67
: rm@delphi-int.org

As far as I remember, we were supposed to use the turnstiles on Innaug.
Day.  I remember purchasing a DC fare card and all it took off was $.50
each time we used system.  We put the card in to enter and then used the
card to exit (which is when the fare was deducted, I believe).  I think
that, because of the immense volume of people who used the stations right
near the Capitol (the stations were packed so full that it was worse than
Times Square @ rush hour!), they might have reduced the fare.  Also, they
had officers stationed in the stations for crowd control.

cya,
Manoj