Train ticket not collected: destroy?

Question

Assuming a train line where single-ride tickets are normally collected or cancelled manually by train crew circulating among seated passengers, and it is physically possible to use them later if they are not:

If one takes a ride for which one has purchased a single-ride ticket or equivalent, and for some reason the conductor does not cancel it, should one destroy the ticket, as one has in fact used the service which was paid for?

I doubt this would be considered a "ta'ut" in the strict sense, as it is part of normal operations that sometimes not everyone's ticket will be collected. I could hear how one would not be required to destroy it, as this is part of the transportation business, but that it would be ethically superior to destroy it. I could also hear that preserving one's money under these equivocal circumstances would also be ethically advantageous, not to mention practically.

Answer 1

Maybe it would be similar to the case of an uncancelled stamp? This page cites R. Menashe Klein zt"l as ruling that you can't reuse the stamp in that case, because of dina d'malchusa.

(There is also the famous story of the Chofetz Chaim ripping up stamps when he had letters delivered by courier rather than the postal system, so as not to deprive the government of the revenue, although R. Klein says that this was not technically necessary since he hadn't in fact used the service.)

Though if that's the case, it might indeed depend on whether the train is government-owned and/or -operated (like Amtrak) or a private concern (say an excursion train or a Greyhound bus); perhaps in the latter case there'd indeed be no need to destroy the ticket.

Answer 2

There is a story that is said about the Chofetz Chaim that an officer of the Czar came in to meet with him and found in his office torn stamps that had the image of the Czar on them. The officer confronted the Chofetz Chaim on this; to which the Chofetz Chaim responded that he had sent letters with a courier and didn't want the Government to lose out on the postage so he bought stamps and ripped them up.

We don't paskin halacha from stories (unless brought down or applied by a competent halachic authority) but it would seem that there is what to be said for such behavior. While I don't see how there could be any way that you would be obligated to rip up the ticket- the company's policy is that they don't expect or ask for payment until they come to get it from you- there is a proper feeling of wanting to pay for something that you received.

The ethically advantageous idea to preserve your money is not referring to an area where you received something for which you should pay. Chazal say 'sonim matanos yichye', and we constantly exhort Hashem to provide for us 'mi yodcha hamelaya vhapesucha' and 'lo midei matnas basar vdam'. The proper Jewish feeling is that we don't want free lunches. We will pay for whatever we receive, we will not seek, expect or hope that others will pay for our needs. We should not squander our money and spend it in senseless ways- because we need it for our needs, besides for the character development and perfection that arises from being careful and exacting with our finances.

Answer 3

When this happened to me and some of my friends in yeshiva, we asked the Rosh Yeshiva....he said that when you buy a ticket, you're not buying a ticket but a ride, and the ticket is proof of the fact that you bought a ride. Hence, if the ticket is not collected, it may not be reused because you really only paid for one ride.

That said, the train company can forgive the tickets if the company policy is that un-collected tickets may be used.
My friend called up the company, and after the lady on the other end of the line stopped laughing, she told him that company policy is indeed that tickets like these may be reused.
It may be a good idea to contact the specific company in question and ask them what their policy is, and if they don't care about these tickets you may reuse them.

Although....as user1095 says, kiddush Hashem is a wonderful and very fulfilling idea. Even though sometimes the conductor may laugh at you, and/or refuse to take your ticket (and I know this from experience;), ask yourself if kiddush Hashem is worth it to you to forgo that ticket.

Answer 4

"Assuming a train line where single-ride tickets are normally collected or cancelled manually by train crew circulating among seated passengers, and it is physically possible to use them later if they are not:"

In such a situation you should throw away or destroy the ticket that you used. If however an employee of the train company tells you that you may keep your ticket, or rewards you a free ride for some reason, of course you can keep it and use it again.

The nature of the system you describe is where the crew circulating among the seated passengers are acting as enforcers of the rules of the train company. You can not take advantage of their mistake to properly enforce the rules.

The situation is really very similar to a person who hires a guard to make sure that you only take 1 item from the warehouse. If the guard falls asleep, that does not mean that you now have permission to take more than one item. And in this case, it means you can't take more than 1 ride.

If the assumptions of system was different, then what you could do would be different. For example, if the circulating crew acted not as enforcers but rather acted a known lottery system, where they would randomly select 90% of the people, and if you got picked you lost your ticket, but if you did not get picked then you won a free ride, you would be under no halachic obligation to voluntarily give up your ticket to lose the ride even though when you bought the ticket, it was assumed you would lose it.

Answer 5

Occaissionally, a crowded or very delayed train will have NO tickets collected. In that case, I'd say there was a decision by the company not to charge anyone, so reusing your ticket is permitted. If most tickets were taken, but your wasn't for some reason, I'd say you probably shouldn't reuse it.

Answer 6

I asked NJ Transit by email if it is acceptable to reuse a ticket in this situation. The customer service representative said yes. I am Catholic, by the way, but I found this forum when searching for an answer to this question.