We talked yesterday with DeCamp owner Gary Pard about what went wrong with the bus company's student discount program, which he plans to abolish because of rampant abuse by "society".
"I'm very upset that I had to stop the program (August 31, tickets expire). I feel bad that the students can't take advantage of the discounted fares anymore, I know how expensive it can get," he says.
So what did "society" do to screw things up?
Pard says he's been scammed. "We keep a strict count on the number of tickets we sell, and we were running an average of 200 tickets a day over and above what we should've seen. I know I didn't sell that many half price tickets."
Since the discount plan started, DeCamp has issued about 75 student passes. The passes are required to buy half-price tickets.
Pard says he has no idea how that many student tickets were sold. He speculated either students were sharing their passes to buy extra tickets, or it could've been a ticket agent selling tickets on the side and pocketing the extra cash. "People were taking advantage of the program...I've got to make a living too."
Part of the problem was our fault," admits Pard. "The drivers were supposed to check customers' ID if they had a half price ticket, but drivers refused, saying they didn't want to deal with a confrontational situation."
C'mon...This isn't rocket science. Let's help Pard figure out a new ticket control system that works. Let's get the student discount program back.
Comments (12)
"...drivers refused, saying they didn't want to deal with a confrontational situation."
NO! Certainly not DeCamp drivers!
"...drivers refused, saying they didn't want to deal with a confrontational situation."
These drivers DIDN'T want to deal with confrontation!?!? I've been yelled at for breathing too darn loud on those buses! I'd go as far as to say that a handful of them thrive on confrontation.
"Excuse me, can you place my my bag in the storage bin under the bus?"
"WHAT!?!?!? COME ON, BUDDY! (huffs and puffs down the stairs and opens the gate with an angry grunt). Here! Give me the ... give me the bag! (huff gruff puff huff) There! Happy?" ((slam))
...
yea.
We kinda don't want to deal with confrontational situations either.
The problem is that the pass only served as the initial gateway to buying half price tickets -- there was no control to keep multiple people from getting tickets from one pass. Partial solution: make the pass itself the half-price ticket (say, for 20 rides) and use a hole puncher with each boarding. Then, much like a monthly metrocard, you simply can't have 2 simultaneous users.
Can't they sell a discounted book of tickets? control the number of tickets sold per pass. How hard could it be?
I'm wondering how students ever figured out there was a discount in the first place. The decamp website offers no information whatsoever regarding ticket pricing, discounting, where to buy tickets, or even an email for decamp to send a question, suggestion or complaint. The line at the port authority to buy tickets is usually so long that its usually not worth the wait...and once you get to the window, those people selling the tickets have to be the rudest people I've ever dealt with and are even less accomodating with information than the decamp website. There's gotta be a better way than the current situation. Does anyone understand the logic in being penalized for buying a 10 pack or 40 pack--why do these tickets expire so quickly?
So now that we have been made into a focus group of sorts for DeCamp is there a financial incentive? I'll settle for getting into work on time, thank you.
DeCamp never should have offered the student tickets. Pard & Co. seemed grudging about it from the get go, almost expecting to be fleeced. Rather than generating good will among riders (something DeCamp sorely needs), the bus company only created another role for itself as villain.
Great that you got Pard on the phone! But did he have anything to say about the other things like the crappy service, late buses, lack of drivers (rude or otherwise), poor customer service, and their lil' failed lawsuit?
snarky comment from ROC or Walleroo in 3....2....1...
{{{{farting sound}}}}
Let's let Decamp go out of business.
NJ Transit, as vile as THEY are, is still, somehow, better and cheaper than Decamp. They should run buses on those routes. It would make bus transfers to these routes possible, and also make it simpler to plan your route using the trip planner part of the NJTransit website.
Great that you got Pard on the phone! But did he have anything to say about the other things like the crappy service, late buses, lack of drivers (rude or otherwise), poor customer service, and their lil' failed lawsuit?
Wrathos, that'll be our next conversation...
Alas, society has once again proved itself unworthy and completely abused this program so badly that it will now be discontinued.
AHAHAHAHAHA....
Who wrote this crap? Hamlet? "Alas"..."society has once again proved itself unworthy"...
These dumbbells couldn't figure out how to institute their own plan so they blame society! God, they're so dumb. Their bitter announcement, cheaply printed out in all caps and sloppily taped all over the place, provided a good laugh though.
I can wait for them to go bankrupt.