ahmc84

ahmc84 t1_j9uk8e2 wrote

Using a VPN isn't going to cut it; the apps will detect it and stop you from placing a wager, and might even lock your account for trying it.

And that's because of the consequences for them of not adhering to state lines. They didn't even let me use a rooted phone despite actually being in a legal state, because location can be spoofed on a rooted phone. And I haven't seen anyone yet figure out how to bypass that detection.

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ahmc84 t1_j4wcqm8 wrote

> The doctors or nurses can also test positive, so it would be EXTRA great to know the person who examined your ear infection or broken leg and was in close proximity actually ended up being sick, wouldn't it?

This right here is probably the biggest reason. The doctors and nurses are around people who might (or outright do, and are specifically at the hospital because they) have Covid, so they are at rather increased risk of infection, and subsequently passing it on to other patients. So it's good to keep contact information for patients so that if a staff member tests positive, they'll be able to inform all the patients that person saw.

And it's probably also a little bit about liability. People aren't supposed to be getting sick because they went to the hospital, so it's a good idea to be proactive about keeping track of how often that's happening. To know that, they have to be able to contact potentially exposed patients who went home to see if they test positive. If it's happening too much, they can adjust their procedures to fix it.

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ahmc84 t1_j1vhdzx wrote

I don't recall what travel times are planned to be (though I do recall seeing an estimate of that once quite some time ago.

But for transfers, the Purple Line will exist completely separate from Metro. You will have to exit one system completely to enter the other. I don't even know if they plan to utilize SmarTrip, though I would assume they will and it wouldn't make sense not to.

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ahmc84 t1_j1tgrqj wrote

Assuming you're looking at missingkids.org, consider this:

Searching missing kids across the U.S. since December 15, there is a total number of 106. 76 of those are in Virginia. I suspect that Virginia has been lax in reporting these cases resolved. Maybe the person responsible for overseeing this particular action for Virginia is on vacation for the holidays. Especially given that over the same period, Maryland has 1, DC has 0, Delaware and Pennsylvania have 0.

Anything "deeper" would show up in those other nearby states.

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ahmc84 t1_iu4t5r7 wrote

Because the cost of real enforcement to stop fare evaders (meaning, vigilant enforcement at the faregate, ensuring that fines get paid, etc.) is not zero. The balance has to be that that cost is outweighed by the additional revenue from those who decide to pay instead of jumping the gate, plus the revenue from drawing additional riders to a system they perceive to be safer because the "criminals" are being kept out. I don't know where the inflection point is for that.

WMATA says they are about to start cracking down by issuing tickets to evaders, but that's only a deterrent if there is a will to pursue people to make sure those fines get paid.

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ahmc84 t1_iu3vk9i wrote

The question here is, if fare enforcement were drastically increased, that comes at a cost. How many fare-jumpers are going to switch to paying vs. just not riding? It's conceivable that fare enforcement might actually be more of a money drain than fare-jumping (note that I am not aware of any analysis on this one way or another).

Of course, then there are the variables of safety, and perceived safety, along with overcrowding and the related assessed need for greater frequency, that also affect a paying customer's choice to ride or not. So it's not exactly a simple problem to really solve.

DC kind of shot itself in the foot by proudly announcing the decriminalization of fare evasion, which was basically tacit permission for fare-jumpers to go wild.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/12/05/dc-council-decriminalizes-metro-fare-evasion-giving-its-final-approval-contested-measure/

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