A shrewd cable car passenger who takes partial rides on steep hills can, more often than not, ride free.“There are only a few places on the line when you can check fares,” one conductor said. more Passengers wait in line to purchase cable car tickets at a booth above Hallidie Plaza in San Francisco, Calif. less Passengers wait in line to purchase cable car tickets at a booth above Hallidie Plaza in San Francisco, Calif. more Passengers ride a cable car towards Bay and Taylor streets after boarding on Powell Street in San Francisco, Calif. less Passengers ride a cable car towards Bay and Taylor streets after boarding on Powell Street in San Francisco, Calif. more Passengers wait in line for up to an hour to board cable cars at the turnaround at Powell and Market streets in San Francisco, Calif. less Passengers wait in line for up to an hour to board cable cars at the turnaround at Powell and Market streets in San Francisco, Calif. It was a day after the San Francisco city controller’s office reported that it had sent undercover investigators onto 30 cable cars in December and had gotten free rides on 11 of them.
Conductors are supposed to issue a blue receipt after collecting each fare.
“Any time you have a system that accepts cash, you do everything you can to protect the public interest and dollars,” Rose said. A controller's report released this week found that many fares went uncollected by conductors from passengers wanting to pay with cash on board.
Passengers hang on as a cable car rolls down Powell Street towards the end of the line at Market Street in San Francisco, Calif. The collection of cable car fares presents a unique challenge.
Original livewire from all of last week can be accessed here.
— Update – p.m.: The filmmakers behind the campus sexual assault documentary The Hunting Ground are reportedly planning a documentary about the sexual misconduct scandal currently engulfing Hollywood.