Neil Williams wrote:
David of Broadway wrote:

If you ever ride the River LINE (yes, that's really how it's spelled) in
southern New Jersey (USA), be careful! I once watched an ticket
inspector fine a poor passenger THREE times because, to kill time while
waiting for the train, he punched his ticket four times (in four
different locations).

Sounds like he was an idiot - surely you can't travel more than once
with one invalid ticket?

Which man, the passenger or the inspector?

There was only one ticket. After purchasing a ticket, the passenger
must validate (time-stamp) it before boarding the train, and the ticket
is valid for a specified period (90 minutes?) thereafter.

This passenger, out of boredom, validated it on all four edges.

It seems quite obvious to me that the earliest time stamped is the
relevant one.

Or perhaps the ticket is invalidated by multistamping, and the inspector
was being a stickler for the rules. In that case, the passenger was
riding without a valid ticket and should be subject to a fine -- but not
to /three/ fines!

And the instant he presented his college ID, the inspector should have
informed him of the promotion and moved on to the next victim.

OH! Now I see why you were confused. By "four different locations" I
meant four spots on the ticket, not four stations. My fault for not
being clear! (But, technically speaking, I believe that a River LINE
ticket is valid for any number of trips within the relevant time limit,
although I could be wrong.)
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA