MBTA Fare System (Charlie, AFC 2.0, Zone, Discounts)

datadyne007

datadyne007

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jass said:
The card still shows the tap happened even if the revenue hasnt been processed.
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Inspectors actually had mobile POP verification devices that they would have you tap your card on and on the screen it would show if a tap happened/you paid your fare. This used to be done on the E line back in 2008 from NEU to Brigham Circle. They also could accept fare taps, so they used to open the back doors at LMA when Boston Latin got out in the afternoon and stand at the back door and let you tap on their device to speed up boarding because of the crush of students.
 
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Brattle Loop

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aycaramba said:
Hello question re: fare gates that were supposed to be installed at North Station (https://www.mbta.com/projects/commuter-rail-station-fare-gates). I have not heard any updates after the announcement that they were being installed. Was wondering if these have been installed, if they are operational, and how they're working? Thank you
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Last time I was through there was about a week ago. I was rushing to catch a train and didn't get a good look, but there were clearly some areas closed off for construction work. I didn't see any gates actually installed, and if there are any, they certainly weren't operational at that time. (I suspect, like many an MBTA/Keolis project, the timeline's probably slipped somewhat, though I for one am not complaining.)

Does make me wonder how the gates will actually work, though. There doesn't seem to be any way they could actually collect fares (rather than simply validating that one has a ticket) on account of there being no mechanism to keep people from gaming the system as to which zone they're travelling to. (That'd presumably stay the conductors' job, though oddly on that particular CR trip the conductor didn't actually collect fares, so, maybe Keolis is going all-in on the gates so they can give up on having their employees carry out a fairly basic element of their jobs...?)
 
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aycaramba

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Brattle Loop said:
Does make me wonder how the gates will actually work, though. There doesn't seem to be any way they could actually collect fares (rather than simply validating that one has a ticket) on account of there being no mechanism to keep people from gaming the system as to which zone they're travelling to. (That'd presumably stay the conductors' job, though oddly on that particular CR trip the conductor didn't actually collect fares, so, maybe Keolis is going all-in on the gates so they can give up on having their employees carry out a fairly basic element of their jobs...?)
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I imagine they will work like they do at major train stations e.g. in the UK. They just validate that you have a ticket and basically trust that you bought the appropriate destination. You also have to scan your ticket to exit the station so it works both in/outbound to at least guarantee people buy any ticket. Not perfect but better than the current standard on the commuter rail...
 
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393b40

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So my plastic charliecard expired today. Annoying because there was probably 10 on it still.

Anyways super confusing process to get a new one on the machine. There is no obvious button for a non paper ticker but apparently if you just press "Add Value" it'll dump a plastic one out at the end.

As always MBTA customer service was super friendly helping me /s

Also since when does the MBTA call going inbound "going southbound" on the Red Line?
 
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aycaramba

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393b40 said:
So my plastic charliecard expired today. Annoying because there was probably 10 on it still.

Anyways super confusing process to get a new one on the machine. There is no obvious button for a non paper ticker but apparently if you just press "Add Value" it'll dump a plastic one out at the end.

As always MBTA customer service was super friendly helping me /s

Also since when does the MBTA call going inbound "going southbound" on the Red Line?
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If by customer service you mean the service center at DTX, usually they can transfer your balance onto a new charlie card no problem so you don't lose the value.
If you are referring to the redcoats posted in the stations--agree; they are worse than useless
 
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393b40 said:
Also since when does the MBTA call going inbound "going southbound" on the Red Line?
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I'm not familiar with the technical reason but it only does this when part of the line is shut down. Why it can't say the destination station (i.e. Broadway) instead of Southbound is beyond me.
 
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393b40

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aycaramba said:
If by customer service you mean the service center at DTX, usually they can transfer your balance onto a new charlie card no problem so you don't lose the value.
If you are referring to the redcoats posted in the stations--agree; they are worse than useless
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I was up by Davis. She was actually useful... but very annoyed I took her attention away from her crossword in the little booth.
 
Teban54

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stefal said:
I'm not familiar with the technical reason but it only does this when part of the line is shut down. Why it can't say the destination station (i.e. Broadway) instead of Southbound is beyond me.
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My guess is regular passengers who only use the northern half of the line may be familiar with "Ashmont" and "Braintree" indicating southbound/inbound trains, but may not know where "Broadway" is.
 
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In the category of "why can't we have nice things" I just saw a unified transit app in action in New Orleans.

Their Le Pass app provides unified payment for streetcars, buses and ferries. Purchase single rides or passes (1, 3, 7 or 31 day versions). Real time service information. Route planning that includes recommendations like walk instead if it is faster. Route information is also integrated with their BlueBikes systems so it recommends bike rental as an option to gap fill service areas.

Simple, easy, intuitive. All in one app.
 
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Teban54 said:
www.bostonherald.com

MBTA won’t roll out $935M automated fare payment system in 2024

The MBTA does not expect to fully implement its nearly $1 billion automated fare collection system in 2024, as previously planned, effectively pushing back a project that was already three years be…
www.bostonherald.com www.bostonherald.com
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Not trying to defend the MBTA's rollout, but man that headline lacks nuance. The article itself is better, but we all know that most folks will just see the headline and not click in.

Part of me wonders how much of this pain is being caused by the T wanting to support legacy CharlieCards. Looking at what the MTA did, OMNY looks like a completely different fare system, at least on the surface. Meanwhile, it seems that most of the new features (more fare loading at retail, management through a new less janky online portal) are also going to apply to legacy cards. Frankly, sounds kinda like hell to implement.
 
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RandomWalk

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The original Charlie Card rollout didn’t bother with backwards compatibility. I suppose this is a side effect of dropping station staffing after Charlie Card removed the need for a staffed fare booth.
 
Equilibria

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Texasian said:
Not trying to defend the MBTA's rollout, but man that headline lacks nuance. The article itself is better, but we all know that most folks will just see the headline and not click in.

Part of me wonders how much of this pain is being caused by the T wanting to support legacy CharlieCards. Looking at what the MTA did, OMNY looks like a completely different fare system, at least on the surface. Meanwhile, it seems that most of the new features (more fare loading at retail, management through a new less janky online portal) are also going to apply to legacy cards. Frankly, sounds kinda like hell to implement.
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Given that they just had me update my CharlieCard to a new autofill system and web portal, it seems like they could pretty reliably move people over.
 
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Having just returned from a trip to NYC, I want the T to scrap AFC 2.0 and copy OMNY. Tapping Apple Pay to charge a fare and having it transparently handle free transfers and upgrading to a weekly unlimited was a dream compared to the T.
 
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