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The Globe tells us this morning us that soon, soon, the T will be fully converted to automated fare cards, a la New York (but hopefully without any crippling strikes). CharlieTicket [sic], as the card is known (the MBTA, ever hip to the latest typographical trends, eschewed the space between two words but preserved the capitalization of the second word), will allow free transfers from bus to subway, T top dog Dan Grabauskas promises, though no word on whether that will work in reverse (why wouldn't it, you ask? Because it's the T). Also, there appears nary a suggestion (that Bostonist can find, anyway) that the CharlieTicket might be used to allow a transfer from the red to the blue lines, which are achingly close but require riders to take a third line one stop for a connection. Our step-father-in-law, who lives along the Silver Line in the South End, reports that the implementation of CharlieTicket has slowed things down considerably on that already slow T line bus, but Grabauskas swears that won't last. Grabauskas also claims the use of the fare card will cut down on turnstile-jumping (though we're not sure exactly how). Bostonist wonders, though, whether he's considered the other types of illicit behavior that might arise: We recall from our days as a Brooklynist that the introduction of the MetroCard in New York spawned a cottage industry of people who purchased unlimited ride cards then hung around the station selling discounted fares (see #4). The city quickly figured this out and put a 17-minute time limit between uses of the unlimited cards, but that just encouraged people to buy multiple cards and rotate them. Bostonist looks forward to seeing how local entrepreneurs will take on the system.
Photo courtesy of boston.com
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It'll cut down on turnstile-jumping because there won't be any turnstiles. The new equipment has neat-o star trek style sliding glass dividers. I'm not sure if they have photon torpedo's to intercept fare evaders...but they might.
My favorite part of this Globe story: "With the systemwide conversion of all MBTA monthly passes to CharlieTickets next month, T officials are hoping that riders will become more comfortable with the technology." Right, cause, you know, having a monthly pass that works the same and looks different is _way_ different than having a monthly pass that just changes color every month. I mean, I totally started shopping in a whole new way when I got my hands on one of these. Ok, not really.
As limited as the Los Angeles subway/train system is (4 lines, only one of them is a subway), at least they had the foresight to put in a barrier-free system. You pay $3 for all the riding you want for that day. You can buy this pass at train stations or even on-board buses! (Weekly and monthly passes have to be purchased at various stores and other outlets around the city.)
There are no turnstiles, entry/exit barriers or token booths. Fare inspectors prowl the trains. If you don't have a valid fare, you get a whopping $275 fine. They make back most of the lost revenue from these fines. Only about 1-2% of people skip out on the fare, so it works out. There are people selling their day passes in or near the stations for $1, but that's usually at night, after they've used the pass all day, and are just trying to get part of their money back. The MTA doesn't lose any money from that. Plus, much cheaper to construct: no building of barriers, token booths or turnstile systems to break down and maintain. Overall, this system works great and has the ultimate virtue of causing limited delays in getting to the trains!
I should have said that MTA doesn't lose MUCH money from people buying day passes for $1 from people who have used them already. Obviously, they do lose a fare there. I have seen this happen, but I'm sure well under 1% of all people who buy a day pass resell them.