I’ve been to Tokyo, and I know the way the public transportation system works is very different from the way it works in the US. It has to be; it’s way, way more complicated. That doesn’t mean that the procedures are better. In both places they are designed to fit the local circumstances.
Ed
Our town busses are free. The intercity bus requires that you show your ticket before boarding, although you can ride from the first town to the ticketing town for free since that’s the only way to get a ticket. The only train is Amtrak.
I didn’t realize when I started this thread that Los Angeles’ Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) had very recently passed a proposal to spend $30 million for the installation of turnstiles at subway stations and some light rail stations. They say they’re losing somewhere between $5 million and $7 million per year on fare evaders.
In a way, I think it would be a shame for the honor system to go away. The system is nice and open and doesn’t create a lot of commuter backlog. On the other hand, I hate being randomly stopped on my way out of the station to be forced to put down my bags, pull out my wallet and find my ticket. It is really annoying. If I know I’m going to have to have my ticket handy every single day, I can deal.
We’ll see what happens. Apparently the idea hasn’t been completely finalized, but I’m not sure what would stop it, either.