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The point isn't what some website says. The point is that the machines are not working properly, and I have suffered (and wasted uncountable hours) as a result. The fact that neither Caltrain nor Translink has done '''anything''' to resolve this over a '''week later''' is absolutely unbelievable.|||Paul Borokhov|Sat, 26 May 2007 19:03:56 -0700}}
Funny thing was, she responded back immediately...with an out-of-office reply. lol. I heard back from her for real on Wednesday morning finally, with this amazingly insightful text:{{quote|Please advise how and from where you obtained your TransLink card. This is apparently when you received the incorrect information concerning its usage. You could not have received the card from Caltrain, since we no longer were participating in the program at the time you obtained your card. I am also not certain why you are requesting a refund. I assume thatyou only used the Caltrain machines when taking the train, in which casepayment was due.|||Astrid Lindell, Caltrain Customer Relations Specialist|Wed, 30 May 2007 10:23:12 -0700}}Damnit, are they really that dull, or am I really that bad at articulating my point? Is it possibly both? That's a killer potion right there...anyway, unfortunately I didn't get her message until Wed night, so I couldn't get an immediate response from her, but here's what I wrote:[[Image:Translink active.jpg|thumb|An active Translink reader enticing you to "Select destination zone"...com'on, you know you want to do it!]][[Image:Translink Zone 2.png|thumb|...it even shows you how much money it will gladly take off your account!]]{{quote|Hello Astrid, I am amazed at the incompetence of your organization. You see, it doesn't matter where or how I obtained my card. What '''does''' matter is that when I arrived on the platform, I saw that there was a functional Translink reader. I don't know about you, but every reasonable person that I know would assume that since# The reader was on the platform and functional, and# The reader deducted the fare from my cardit was a valid method of payment. You see, payment was '''not''' due since I was kicked off the train. If that didn't happen, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Let me know if there are any other obvious points that I missed. Just in case you think I'm making this stuff up, I'm attaching some pictures that I took '''yesterday''' that still show the readers being active. Paul|||Wed, 30 May 2007 21:40:34 -0700}}I've inserted the images that I attached into this section (click on them for full versions), so now everyone can see what I'm talking about. It took them an entire week to come up with a response to that, and it wasn't that pretty...{{quote|Thank you for your comments. Only one card was tagged at the Palo Alto station during the afternoonof May 19th. This card was purchased through the Web link athttp://www.translink.org. Since you mention that a fare was deducted from you card that day, itwould appear that the above card may belong to you and that it wasobtained via the TransLink web site, where it clearly states on whichagencies the card is valid, Caltrain not being among them. It is not clear why an attempt was made to pay a Caltrain fare with aTransLink card, given that the cards are being sold for use only on thespecified agencies. Under these circumstances it should be irrelevantwhether the Caltrain card readers are turned on or off. If you have any further comments concerning a possible refund, theTransLink card or the card readers, please contact the TransLinkCustomer Service Center at 1-877-878-8883|||Astrid Lindell, Caltrain Customer Relations Specialist|Thu, 7 Jun 2007 09:35:49 -0700}}I also just realized that they gave up on trying to write my name correctly, lol. Here's what I sent back to her...{{quote|Astrid,This is the main point of contention I have with you. It is '''not''' irrelevant whether the readers are turned on or off. Websites, especially of public transit agencies, have been notoriously out of date and inaccurate. Just because the website doesn't explicitly state that the card is usable on Caltrain doesn't mean that your liability ends right there. Again, I cannot understand what is so hard about getting this. The readers are on. Fare inspectors say that they are off. '''That is all that matters'''. The problem is not with what some website says; it is with the fact that there is a disconnect on the enforcement side between '''rules''' and '''reality'''. How many times do I have to explain this before you guys finally get it? Can you tell me how hard it is to simply '''shut off power''' to the readers and be done with it?<br/>Looks like I won't be using Caltrain for a while.|||Paul|Thu, 7 Jun 2007 10:05:37 -0700}}She responded fairly swiftly, and to the point. Namely,{{quote|We have no further comments on this matter.|||Astrid Lindell, Caltrain Customer Relations Specialist|Thu, 7 Jun 2007 12:19:59 -0700}}Cool.