MBTA Fare Restructuring/Increase/Automation

[TheBostonian]

Anyone know how one will acquire a Charlie Card (rather than Charlie Ticket) for January?

[Waldorf]

I think the MBTA said that they will ask various convenience stores near various stations to sell them as well as at all the usual T pass locations.

[TheBostonian]

Also, I am curious to hear whether everyone on this board will pay higher fares. I am on the winning side of the changes, since my combo pass is coming down from $71 to $59.

I also wonder whether those who have typically only used the subway and had a subway-only pass, which will be eliminated forcing them to buy a subway/bus combo pass, will start riding buses.

[statler]

Well, I buy the subway passes but I doubt I'll start riding the bus. It doesn't really help my commute at all.

On the the subject. I think I'm the only person in Boston who:

A. Doesn't think the T sucks.
B. Doesn't mind the fare increase.

Weird, I know.

[TheBostonian]

Well, I buy the subway passes but I doubt I'll start riding the bus. It doesn't really help my commute at all.

On the the subject. I think I'm the only person in Boston who:

A. Doesn't think the T sucks.
B. Doesn't mind the fare increase.

Weird, I know.

You are one of at least two.

[jass]

Also, I am curious to hear whether everyone on this board will pay higher fares. I am on the winning side of the changes, since my combo pass is coming down from $71 to $59.

I also wonder whether those who have typically only used the subway and had a subway-only pass, which will be eliminated forcing them to buy a subway/bus combo pass, will start riding buses.

I wont be buying monthly passes next year. Instead, Ill buy weekly passes once in awhile, and get everything I need done during that week.

Right now Ill take the T for anything. Do I need toothpaste? Off to shaws!

Not with the new fares.

[blinkieob]

Well, I buy the subway passes but I doubt I'll start riding the bus. It doesn't really help my commute at all.

On the the subject. I think I'm the only person in Boston who:

A. Doesn't think the T sucks.
B. Doesn't mind the fare increase.

Weird, I know.

You are one of at least two.

Make it 3! I'm really happy with the way the fare increase has been structured, actually. I will have to pay more, as I currently have a subway-only pass, but I think cutting the fare of a combo/link pass is great. I certainly won't end up riding buses very often (and definitely not in my daily commute), but it will make me more likely to make more frequent trips to areas that are not serviced directly by the subway.

[TheBostonian]

Here's the MBTA's answer to my question:

http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/rappaport/downloads/policybriefs/commuter_rail.pdf

[ablarc]

^ Not very impressive figures in that report.

[justin]

Those folks are famously anti-transit. I'd take their figures with a pinch of salt.

justin

[TheBostonian]

Oh man. I'm silly. I meant to post this link about how to get a Charlie Card:

http://www.mbta.com/pdf/CharlieCard_Dist_Ad_11_06.pdf

[lexicon506]

This CharlieCard is really confusing me. What exactly is the point of it? You can already add as much money as you want to a CharlieTicket right there at the T station without having to go to a retailer. Is this system just trying to rip off tourists that won't know about the difference between the two? It seems to me that if you have CharlieTickets you don't need CharlieCards, and vice versa. If they made CharlieTickets single use (or a set number like 3 rides, 6 rides, etc) and made CharlieCards the only rechargeable ones, then it would make more sense. For now, it seems that the only difference between a CT and a CC is that the CC is made of plastic, less expensive, and less convenient to recharge. Am I missing something crucial here?[/url]

[jass]

This CharlieCard is really confusing me. What exactly is the point of it? You can already add as much money as you want to a CharlieTicket right there at the T station without having to go to a retailer. Is this system just trying to rip off tourists that won't know about the difference between the two? It seems to me that if you have CharlieTickets you don't need CharlieCards, and vice versa. If they made CharlieTickets single use (or a set number like 3 rides, 6 rides, etc) and made CharlieCards the only rechargeable ones, then it would make more sense. For now, it seems that the only difference between a CT and a CC is that the CC is made of plastic, less expensive, and less convenient to recharge. Am I missing something crucial here?[/url]
Cards are faster. You tap it against the machine, instead of inserting it and waiting for it to come out again.

[KentXie]

As long as they improve services, I won't complain.

[Ron Newman]

You don't throw away the CharlieCard, you keep reloading it with more value (or more monthly passes).

[lexicon506]

Cards are faster.

Is that really it? An "insert" costs 30 cents more than a "tap?" That seems a bit ridiculous, even for the couple of seconds it will save. I still think the MBTA should better distinguish between the two by making CTs only available for set numbers of rides, which the machine recycles once those rides are used (to cut down on CTs littered everywhere). On my last trip to Boston, I kept the same CT for the whole 4 days, you can easily recharge them right there at the machine. I guess it's good that CCs can hold passes, but the MBTA is obviously trying to milk tourists with the 30 cent difference.

[TheBostonian]

Hopefully the "tap" will be faster on the bus. Getting off the 73 at Waverly Square a couple nights ago, where fares are collected on exit, was very slow. It was a full bus and I think there was confusion for some riders about the new fare box. Also, these boxes can only take one coin at a time rather than a whole handful of change. You have to insert your Charlie Ticket and wait about one second for it to come back out.

Regarding differences between the ticket and the card: My friend from DC complained about the new MBTA system not using tappable cards, without knowing they were coming. So apparently the cards are seen as advantageous by some.

We have a card system at work and my card works through my wallet. I just put my wallet up to the reader and bingo. It will be sweet if the Carlie Card works that way. I know I'll be experimenting with it.

[palindrome]

keep me updated on that, because that would be sweet.

[TheBostonian]

The Charlie Card is wonderful. As I had hoped it would, it does work through my wallet. I hope all riders soon realize this. It saves us from digging around our wallets, or being behind a crowd digging through their wallets. If it doesn't immediately work through your wallet, try experimenting with its placement inside the wallet. And there is no actual tap needed. It registers when it is held near the reader.

In the subway faregates it is faster than the ticket. Using a ticket goes like this after you get it out of your wallet:

Insert...pause/step forward....take ticket...gates open

And with the CharlieCard, without having to take it out of your wallet:

"Tap"...gates open

The card is an improvement in the system. But I'm sure others will notice that the image on the back of the card is embarrassingly ugly. Also, I don't see why the MBTA has to waste a penny promoting it. There is no better promotion for the card than the lower fares it gives you compared to the ticket.

[BostonMike]

Also, you can register your CharlieCard. If you lose it, you can freeze the card and not lose any money. I used to live in DC and the SmarTrip card was great. You could add money online (as you will be able to with the CharlieCard), and you could go through the gates without digging through your wallet (as has already been mentioned). And, unlike DC, the CharlieCard is free--it cost $5 in Washington.

I used it on the bus today and it is definitely faster that the CharlieTicket.

[TheBostonian]

One MBTA employee told me they will eventually be charging for the cards. But I don't trust what the staff say since another one told me that I could transfer value from the Charlie Ticket to my Charlie Card, which I can't. Also, more than once I have heard on the Red Line "Change here for the Blue Line" when entering Park Street.

[castevens]

I think they will start charging for the CC, though. I feel like when they turn around and realize everyone else does it....

Get 'em while they're free

[TheBostonian]

Looks like I can't register and add value to my CharlieCard online yet. Does anyone know something I don't?

[Ron Newman]

Sure you can add value to it. I've done so twice already, once with $5 from a debit card, then again with 40 cents in coins.

[statler]

^^Online or at a machine?

[Waldorf]

Sure you can add value to it. I've done so twice already, once with $5 from a debit card, then again with 40 cents in coins.

He means ONLINE.

[bosdevelopment]

I never liked the idea of a card. I have numerous mta cards from nyc and one from dc floating around in my wallet, money wasting away on them.

The analogy would be to that of buying a gift certificate to use the train. If I use the T twice a year now (too much) I dont want to have to bother with a stupid card. Just let me put my cash in and let me be on my way. I'm sure millions of riders don't use it every day and would rather not be hassled with the issue of getting a stupid card.

[statler]

The one & two ride Charlie Tickets will still be available (just slightly more expensive) so it works like this:

Old way: Pay money > Get token > Put token in gate > Walk through gate.

New way: Pay money > Get ticket > Put ticket in gate > Walk through gate.

[Waldorf]

Well, you can put whatever amount you want on either the card or the Charlie Ticket. So if you know you are only going to ride it once or twice, just put the exact amount on.

[Ron Newman]

The new Fields Corner station opened this morning, probably at the beginning of service. I got there around 9:45 am and exited into the new lobby, where the Fare Vending Machines were already in service but the Charlie gates were cordoned off behind a ceremonial ribbon.

Santa Claus arrived at 10:05 am and cut the ribbon. Then he began handing out Charlie Card brochures with bows tied on top. The Charlie Cards all had value on them. Mine had $10, others got $2.50 or $5, and some probably had even more stored value. I also heard that a few of the gift CharlieCards had a LinkPass on them.

This was the very last station to be converted. Congratulations to the MBTA for finishing the job on time.

The station still needs a lot of work -- it doesn't yet have escalators or elevators. Wheelchair access is still from a long ramp to Geneva Avenue, and I don't think there's any Charlie gate down there.

[IMAngry]

You say it's the very last station to be converted.

Does this mean Copley Square is done? If so, that is truly a miracle.

[Ron Newman]

Yes, Copley opened a day or two before Fields Corner. Both stations still have a lot of work left to do, but they are now Charlie-converted.

[KentXie]

Paying the fare on the bus has not become more of a pain in the ass now since it takes longer just to pay in cash and longer to use the ticket. My bus is always late now...

It used to be:
Dump coins in and go or swipe card and go.

Now it's:
Insert coins and take about 5 seconds more or insert ticket, wait 4 seconds, take ticket and go. Or if u now have the card, tap it, go.

I know 5 or 4 seconds arent that much but try having about 20 people doing this especially during rush hour.

[TheBostonian]

I just disected a Charlie Card after I read a comment on badtransit.com claiming that despite the warning not to, you can indeed punch a whole in it. You just have to be careful to avoid the bottom right corner of the front side. If the tiny chip is the only workign part of the card, you could be creative with it, implanting it into a finger of a glove, or maybe in the brim of a hat you always wear.

[Ron Newman]

the chip is just to the right of the word "Authority", but doesn't the card also have a bunch of wiring that acts as an antenna? Take that away and I wonder how well it still works.

[TheBostonian]

I couldn't find anything but plastic except for the small chip in the corner. What I'm seeing as the chip must include a little antenna.