Charlie Card

[portnorfolk]

Couldn't find a designated thread around the Charlie Card so created one.

Not sure if discussed before, but was looking at my pass and realized that the MBTA had picked for the face of the card 1 Beacon instead of a more significant Boston landmark... Along with a Waterfront Silverline bus. Wouldn't you want to show off your best features (train and city) MBTA especially for tourists/new people to the city? Or are they assuming only locals would buy the pass and admire square brown buildings.

(sorry so blurry/camera phone)

also wanted to know if you have an unlimited monthly pass, what is the time limit before you can use your card again @ same station. This is to prevent multiple people using card, but what if you swiped and missed going through and needed to do it again...

 

[mass88]

I have a monthly pass for the Subway and local bus. I have never done an experiment, but I know that you have to wait at least a few (3-4) minutes before you can use it again.

I have had it happen before that I swiped it and then dropped something behind me, went to get it and the gate had closed. I went to the person on duty and explained and he let me through.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

I have a monthly pass I use it 5 days a week for commuting, which in itself makes the monthly pass for feasible. Plus, I regularly just ride around or go somewhere when I have time to kill but nothing better to do or that I can't do on a train. And then if I go into the city with friends on the weekend, all the better.


I think the wait time is either 5 minutes or 20 minutes. I forget which. I suspect 5.

 

[Ron Newman]

I think it's 20 minutes. It applies only in the same station. I've walked into and out of State, Downtown Crossing, and Park Street stations in quick succession with a monthly pass, and that worked fine.

The pass photo shows two subway trains (Red and Orange) and a bus, which seems reasonable to me. I think most of it is a shot from the elevated Red Line platform at Charles Street, towards downtown Boston.

 

[kennedy]

Regardless of card functionality, I've always felt that any card should stay away from photographic portrayals of whatever service they provide. For some reason, I just prefer a more abstract/designed style. Photographs seem a little bit too '80s, and a little bit too ID-esque.

 

[Digital_Islandboy]

Couldn't find a designated thread around the Charlie Card so created one.

Not sure if discussed before, but was looking at my pass and realized that the MBTA had picked for the face of the card 1 Beacon instead of a more significant Boston landmark... Along with a Waterfront Silverline bus. Wouldn't you want to show off your best features (train and city) MBTA especially for tourists/new people to the city? Or are they assuming only locals would buy the pass and admire square brown buildings.

That is how it was viewed, that only locals would need the card. The Charlie Card costs the MBTA money... Hence why the MBTA had the paper 1, 3 and 7 day (paper) passes. (I haven't been to the Auto-Fare machine recently but I think 3 day has since been removed in favour for just 1 and 7 days unlimited passes?)
Originally there was a plan to charge a small fee for the Charlie Card but that was revoked.

(sorry so blurry/camera phone)

also wanted to know if you have an unlimited monthly pass, what is the time limit before you can use your card again @ same station. This is to prevent multiple people using card, but what if you swiped and missed going through and needed to do it again...

If you have an unlimited monthly pass stored on your Charlie Card you can only tap and use that pass at the same station once every 20 minutes is what was told to us. But it could end up being 19 minutes or 21 minutes. I never actually needed to try figuring it out and sometimes the less you know around the MBTA the better. Since there were certain things I knew it meant I could be questioned should a problem arise so I really didn't try to know more than I needed to about the inter-workings.

Yes it is to stop people from "passing back" as we call it. But as you can see this system was hardly the most fool-proof.

If had an unlimited pass, and you swiped and missed then nothing should happen... Actually sometimes it just take about 5 seconds to realise that you swiped. But if you had Stored Value (cash) saved on your CharlieCard and you swiped a second time it would draw from your Stored Value to open the gate...

 

[Digital_Islandboy]

I think it's 20 minutes. It applies only in the same station. I've walked into and out of State, Downtown Crossing, and Park Street stations in quick succession with a monthly pass, and that worked fine.

The pass photo shows two subway trains (Red and Orange) and a bus, which seems reasonable to me. I think most of it is a shot from the elevated Red Line platform at Charles Street, towards downtown Boston.

The photo appears to be roughly from the Longfellow Bridge as you look east....

Correct. It is same station. But beware, it sometimes ties two separate entrances of the same station-name together. I've seen it happen...
i.e. People sometimes get inside Boylston and realise they meant to go into the opposite site but, they have to wait 20 minutes to get back in on that opposite side of Boylston.

 

[jass]

The photo appears to be roughly from the Longfellow Bridge as you look east....

Correct. It is same station. But beware, it sometimes ties two separate entrances of the same station-name together. I've seen it happen...
i.e. People sometimes get inside Boylston and realise they meant to go into the opposite site but, they have to wait 20 minutes to get back in on that opposite side of Boylston.

No need to wait, just tell the attendant and they'll let you in.

Although the lazy ones will say "follow the next person" instead of "let me pull out my staff card and let you in"

 

[Digital_Islandboy]

Although the lazy ones will say "follow the next person" instead of "let me pull out my staff card and let you in"

That is discretionary by the MBTA. One of the biggest complaints the MBTA used to get is fare evasion. People don't feel like they should have to buy monthly passes when others getting in free. So to stop that, the MBTA cut clamped down on the practice of "showing and going" so all CSA's are instructed to make the customer tap their own pass. Because if the CSA lets you in, and someone else not knowing situation calls and complains guess who could end up losing their job or getting disciplined?
So the end result is many CSAs don't want the hassle of even having to face that situation. To this day I make sure people aren't able to double-up with me when I go through the gates because I don't want to be told one day that they saw me on some camera letting people in. So I always rush right through. If that person doubles up with someone else that is their prerogative but I don't feel like being hauled into court over anything like that so I avoid it all together myself.
So from an actual stand point that CSA is technically risking their job to be perfectly truthful to the situation, if someone complains about seeing them letting you in there is a *chance* they couldl be questioned about it.

There's two sides to every coin.