CALL FOR RESOURCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 February 1928, Page 8

CALL FOR RESOURCE

REDEMPTION OF TICKETS. The man who redeems unused railroad tickets has his troubles, states the “New York Times.” Ho must meet all kinds of people and never lose his temper. He must know all kinds of tickets and what their redemption value is-. He must examine tickets, answer Questions, count out money and smile —all at the same time. If he has any time left he must spend it studying the new ticket forms constantly being devised by the railroad’s passenger department. People want all kinds of tickets redeemed for all kinds of reasons. First in line at the window may be a stenographer who bought a. ticket to the sen shore, only to learn that she had to work Saturday afternoon and could not use it. Next to her is a man who bought a. round-trip ticket to New York and did not use the return trip because a friend of his brought him back in his automobile. While the ticket redemption clerk knows the fares between a great many points, he cannot be expected to remember all of them. There are single fares, round-trip fares ,one-day excursion fares, fares for the clergy, for railroad employees, for commuters. Beside the ticket redemption clerk in the typical railroad office is a rack containing lists of the fares to all points. A man will come to the window with a, part of a commutation ticket which he wants to have redeemed. The redemption clerk must figure out its value very carefully. Commutation tickets arc sold at rates considerably under the one-way fare. When unused portions of a commutation ticket are redeemed the rides used are reckoned at the regular one-way fare. This usually results in a storm of protest, as-the average commuter thinks he should bo charged for the rides used only at the special low fare.