Skip the 10-pack: Why some CT train tickets cost more when bought in bulk

Buy one and pay $4.75, buy 10 and pay … $48.75?If that doesn’t look like a good deal, it’s not.But it’s exactly the choice that senior citizens have when they ride CT Rail between Hartford and Springfield. They’re not alone, either: Riders over 65 who travel between any Hartford Line stations face the same unusual choice, and so do seniors riding on Shore Line East.Unlike most any other public transit fare schedule, buying a multi-trip ticket provides no reward or even a break-even price. Instead, it carries a small penalty.The state Transportation Department, which runs both systems, told the Courant that this is a matter of programming in Connecticut’s computerized fare calculation system. It’s caused by the system rounding discounted fares up to the nearest quarter, and it’s not likely to change, the DOT said.“There are different fares for peak and off peak, one-way and 10-trip and weekly and monthly, discounts for seniors and children,” spokesman Josh Morgan said..In addition, ConnDOT’s system charges different prices for tickets bought onboard vs. those purchased before the trip through vending machines or the CT Rail eTIX app. The system offers a different rate for groups, and a separate one for students buying monthly passes.“This is a very complex system,” Morgan said.Passengers board a CT Rail train as it makes a stop at the Meriden station before heading to New Haven on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)Even with the glitch, seniors still end up with a nearly half-price discount if they buy the 10-trip ticket, Morgan said.The matter came to light when an anonymous reader contacted The Courant with a message asking “Why does a 10-ride ticket on CT Rail for those over 65 cost MORE than 10 one-way rides? e.g., one ride from Hartford to Springfield is $3. But 10 rides cost $31.25???”It turns out that customers on the New Haven to Springfield, CT Rail line aren’t the only ones affected.Shore Line East, which is also run by the DOT, has a similar price anomaly for senior rates. A rider over 65 traveling between Branford and Madison, for instance, pays $1.50 for a single ride. In most U.S. transit systems, that means if a 10-ticket option was available, it would cost either $15 or a bit less. But on Shore Line East, the price is $17.50 — or almost 17% more than simply paying the one-way fare separately on each of the 10 trips.Passengers wait on the Meriden station platform as a CT Rail train pulls into the station on its way to New Haven on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)The DOT’s fare system puts all prices in 25-cent increments, so there are no fares of, say, $13.19, $13.21 or $13.04. Instead, there are just two prices in that range: Either $13 or $13.25.And that’s where the 10-trip senior fare quirks come in. The system is supposed to calculate senior fares at half of the regular fare, but for odd numbers the seniors actually get a slightly better deal. The regular fare between Meriden and Windsor Locks is $6.75, for instance, but the system sets the senior rate at $3.25 — about eight cents less than half price.But with 10-fare tickets, the system calculates a single fare up to the nearest quarter, then multiplies that by 10. That means senior riders pay slightly extra: A single New Haven to New London trip runs $5.25, but a 10-trip ticket is $53.75 — or a dollar and a half more than buying tickets individually.For most riders, the difference is somewhere between minor and miniscule. But the difference can add up for a frequent rider on longer-haul trips; a senior citizen going twice a week between Old Saybrook and Branford from now through the end of January, for instance, would spend $225 on individual fares. But that same travel would run $237.50 through 10-trip tickets.Jim Gildea and Kate Rozen, who head the Connecticut Public Transportation Council, both praised the man who spotted the anomaly.A message board letting passengers know that the CT Rail train 4453 to New Haven is on time at the Meriden station along the Hartford Line on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)“This is a good catch and certainly runs counter to the philosophy of providing our seniors a discount for using public transportation,” Gildea wrote. “I’m cautiously optimistic that the DOT will take the feedback given and show flexibility, be open-minded, and correct what is obviously not the intended price structure.”But another prominent commuter advocate didn’t predict any change.Passengers board a CT Rail train as it makes a stop at the Meriden station before heading to New Haven on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)“This is the first instance I’ve heard of. Their answer is plausible if not satisfying,” said Jim Cameron, founder of the Commuter Action Group in Fairfield County. “But seniors are still getting 50% off. And I don’t think the DOT is going to change its equation.“A smart consumer will buy the cheapest ticket. So if that means buying 10 one-way tickets, so be it,” Cameron said. “If that means the DOT has to print 10 (separate) tickets or process them as opposed to one fare collection, well I suppose they don’t care much about that.”

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