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Re: Court Fight Against MTA Summons Can Be A Mysterious Process

Posted by Terrapin Station on Fri Aug 19 17:24:53 2011, in response to Re: Court Fight Against MTA Summons Can Be A Mysterious Process, posted by BusMgr on Fri Aug 19 14:51:39 2011.

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So now let's look at the provision of Section 1050.4(1) that was emphasized by the prior poster. It says, "it shall be no defense to a charge of a violation of this subdivision that fare media, a fare media sales device or a fare collection device was malfunctioning." Now, a defense to a violation of Section 1050.4(1) might be that the charged passenger did in fact make "payment of the fare." Such a defense would be supported by evidence showing that the passenger paid "the lawful charges established by the Authority for the use of its facilities." For this defense there is no need to rely upon the fact that there was any malfunctioning device. That is, the fare was paid regardless of the status of any any particular device. Another defense would be that the MetroCard was "tendered." That an Authority machine that malfunctions might mean that the Authority is unable to accept a tender, but the fact that a machine has malfunctioned does not affect the tender itself. In other words, there is no need to rely upon a defense that a device is malfunctioning since the tender was complete when the MetroCard was presented and without regard to any Authority acceptance of the MetroCard.

I think the prior poster is correct to the extent that the Authority would like to place the burden on passengers when its own machines malfunction. But since that very concept is inherently unfair, it requires significant convolution of the law to effectuate that result. I don't think the Authority has sufficiently convoluted the law. Nonetheless, it is likely that the administrative law judges at the Transit Adjudication Bureau will either implement the intent of the the Authority notwithstanding the failure of the rules to express that intent, or that those judges will simply adopt a simplistic reading of the rules without going through the more rigorous analysis above.

Epic post! Thanks for all that. Did you really just write all that or did you have the bulk of it saved from a prior circumstance? In any event, thanks again.

So the defense arguments you provided, as well as your conclusion that the defense arguments should be sufficient to clear the accused passenger of wrongdoing, are based on your own theories and not of actual decisions rendered by the TAB, correct? So you're not sure if any administrative law judge at the Transit Adjudication Bureau has in the past, or would in the future, agree with you and render a 'not guilty' verdict, right? But the person in the NY1 article was cleared of the charges so it seems the administrative law judge found some sort of defense valid.

Now how does the following affect what you wrote:

We're here to help: What to do if you can't obtain a receipt at a fare collection machine or have some other problem

Take down the machine number.

If a machine is not working, please board the bus and tell the bus operator.

If a machine does not issue a receipt or return your MetroCard or coins ask the bus operator for a business reply envelope or call: 212 MetroCard (212-638-7622).

It seems to be saying that if you follow this procedure, you can still ride the SBS, especially since it does not say that you must still pay a valid fare before boarding, even if you have to double-pay (and then you would follow the procedure to receive a refund on the first fare you paid).



I think the prior poster is correct to the extent that the Authority would like to place the burden on passengers when its own machines malfunction.

Thank you!

But since that very concept is inherently unfair...

It seems like there should be a clearer policy and list of instructions for what to do in situations like when all of the metrocard validation machines at an SBS bus stop are not working. The bus drivers and enforcement officers (and passengers) should all be aware of it so that passengers who follow the rules do not get a summons in the first place.

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