Non-payment warnings and citations for failing to "tap off" when departing train

To Whom It May Concern:

In an e-mail to me dated March 1, 2016, Jon Highland, customer service supervisor at Sound Transit's operations department wrote, "if you are to ride on Sounder Commuter Rail or Link light Rail the fare policy is that you must tap the ORCA reader prior to boarding, and tap off once you leave the train. If you choose not to follow these requirements you can be issued a warning and possible citation for non-payment."

Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request all warnings and citations for non-payment issued since March 1, 2013, resulting from your staff's suspicion that a passenger failed to "tap off" after he or she left a Sound Transit train.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Phil Mocek

Dear Sir or Madam:

To clarify (not to revise) my request filed March 9: I am at this time seeking just those non-payment warnings and citations which resulted form suspected failure of a public transit rider to "tap off" after riding a Sound Transit train, not those issued for suspected failure to "tap on" before riding.

Mr. Highland clearly stated in his March 1 message to me that a warning or citation for non-payment can be issued simply for failure to perform either of these actions, apparently regardless of whether one's fare was, in fact, paid. Either situation seems unjust in the case of someone who has paid for an unlimited-use monthly transit pass, but the suspicion that someone has refrained from electronically registering his or her departure from a public transit vehicle, effectively volunteering for more fine-grained tracking of his or her movement, seems a particularly outrageous reason to accuse him or her of fare evasion, and I wish to determine how frequently your staff have historically engaged in such outrageous behavior.

Cordially,
Phil Mocek