Seniors Fined $90 Each for Shorting Blue Line a Nickel on Fare : Transportation: Four retirees--ages 66 to 75--were taken off a train by deputies who check tickets and patrol the line. Officials plan to reassess enforcement policies.

There are plenty of ways to go about selling car-loving Southern California on the new Blue Line light rail system. But the one way not to do it, transit officials agreed Tuesday, is to fine four retirees $90 apiece and kick them off the train because they were a nickel short on the fare.

That is what retired gynecologist Willard Zahn, 68, says happened to him and three friends last month in an episode that has transit agencies in Los Angeles and Long Beach reassessing whether fare enforcement along the 5-month-old line is too stringent and vowing to make amends.

“Two of us had cardiac surgery. One of us had bladder cancer and was in great distress . . . being detained for at least a half-hour,” Zahn said. “This is so mean-spirited. The difference is a nickel.”

According to Zahn, he took two friends and a visitor from Chicago on a Long Beach Transit bus Nov. 19. They bought a transfer to hook up with the Blue Line for the ride to downtown Los Angeles for a French dip sandwich at Philippe’s.

Instead of getting the 10-cent transfer to change from the bus to the Blue Line, they were mistakenly given the nickel transfer, which only allows passengers to change from one bus to another bus, Zahn said.

One of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who patrols the line checked the tickets at the Compton station and found that the four men, ranging in age from 66 to 75, were 20 cents short, collectively. Three more deputies showed up and the men were taken off the train and given citations that carry a fine of $90 each for fare evasion.

“This is so petty,” Zahn growled after deciding to take his story to the news media. “This is not the way to encourage people to ride.”

Blue Line fares are purchased on the honor system and sheriff’s deputies roam the line checking tickets at random. They gave out more warnings than citations in the early weeks of operation. By mid-August, deputies started getting tough and have handed out at least 10,000 citations for offenses ranging from disturbing the peace to smoking on the platforms.

Fining four retired men $360 for a 20-cent mistake is going too far, transit officials agreed after a flurry of hastily arranged meetings to discuss the incident.

“This is an important customer-service issue. We want to show these men and others that we really care about our customers and we want them to come back and give us a second chance,” said Art Leahy, Rapid Transit District assistant general manager in charge of Blue Line operations.

By Tuesday afternoon, bureaucrats were bending over backward to make it up to Zahn and his friends.

The RTD promised free tickets and assistance in getting the citations dismissed. The county transportation commission was analyzing whether their fare signs are big enough and calling on the Sheriff’s Department to lighten up its enforcement tactics. Long Beach Transit promised to revamp its transfer policy to make it less confusing.

Blue Line popularity has been twice as high as transit officials expected, and the last thing they wanted to do was offend riders, officials said.

“We are certainly dismayed by this incident,” said Neil Peterson, executive director of the county transit commission. “We have been exceptionally pleased with the ridership success of this new rail line and don’t want to see any procedure slip through that may work to discourage its continued success.”

As for the deputies? The law is the law, and they said they will keep enforcing it.

“Where do you draw the line? When do you say enough mistakes have been made? How many times can we allow people to say they got the wrong transfer?” asked Sgt. Joe Anda of the sheriff’s transit services bureau.

Transit officials concede that crime has been held to a minimum since the Sheriff’s Department won the $9.9-million contract to keep the 19-mile line safe.

“The Blue Line has been a great success so far and a major reason is people feel very safe on the line,” Leahy said. “There has been very little fare evasion, and very little crime.”

BACKGROUND

The Blue Line began running from Los Angeles to Long Beach on July 14, with free rides offered for the first two weeks. On Aug. 1, riders began paying the $1.10 fare and sheriff’s deputies began making random checks. Deputies issued citations 32% of the time the first month and issued warnings for the rest. Last month, citations were issued 75% of the time.