MBTA Fare Restructuring/Increase/Automation

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TheBostonian

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Anyone know how one will acquire a Charlie Card (rather than Charlie Ticket) for January?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
statler said:
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.
Click to expand...

You are one of at least two.
 
TheBostonian said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
TheBostonian said:
statler said:
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.
Click to expand...

You are one of at least two.
Click to expand...

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.
 
^ Not very impressive figures in that report.
 
Those folks are famously anti-transit. I'd take their figures with a pinch of salt.

justin
 
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]
 
lexicon506 said:
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]
Click to expand...
Cards are faster. You tap it against the machine, instead of inserting it and waiting for it to come out again.
 
As long as they improve services, I won't complain.
 
You don't throw away the CharlieCard, you keep reloading it with more value (or more monthly passes).
 
Cards are faster.
Click to expand...

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