"Get Poor Charlie off the M[B]TA": Diary of a Week in South Station

When we heard the MBTA was going to bring Charlie and all his accompanying fancy kiosks and turnstiles to our morning destination stop of South Station, we thought..."eh." In defense, this less-than-enthusiastic response to the T's announcement of actual(?) service improvement was based solely on past experiences with 1) Porter Square stop's escalators and 2) South Station's "bomb containing" garbage cans, the lids of which are always sitting neatly on the nearby ground.

"Ah, c'mon...give Charlie a chance," said the angel on our right shoulder.
Nearly four full days later, the devil on our left shoulder is wicked pissed.

A brief diary of our days (and nights) with Charlie...

DAY 1 (Monday): Turnstiles erected near one entrance (note: not the main one,) five card distribution machines clogged with people, everything else wrapped in fine black fabric mesh. Luckily, one MBTA attendant is there to help all.

DAY 2 (Tuesday): Perhaps in early response to the the new healthcare measure that just passed, and any subsequent disability benefits attached to said measure, the MBTA doesn't want to any accidents from contractors working times except during the morning commute, so everything stands exactly as it was yesterday. Clog at the lone set of turnstiles (one of the five is now non-functional,) clog at the card dispensers, two (+1 from yesterday!) attendant trying to assist everyone...deja-vu, anyone?

DAY 3 (Wednesday): The other set of turnstile machines appear to be — gasp — unwrapped behind their finely meshed fortress, but no workmen are in sight.

DAY 4 (Thursday): ONE WORKMAN IN SIGHT! ONE WORKMAN IN SIGHT! For everything else, refer to Day 2.

...which pretty much brings us up to date. While Bostonist has no doubt that the CharlieTicket will revolutionize our city's transit system, making it smooth, fast, and efficient like NYC and Toykyo (ha!), we're skeptical after watching the tortoise pace of this week's South Station work. May we suggest that, while waiting in line for either a ticket or turnstile, you fully prepare yourself for what's ahead by reading the Charlie Update on your Blackberry?