Bostonist: Good Morning CharlieCard

Annie

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:02:24 -0500

Guess what After all this the January monthly pass is the cardboard ticket. I just confirmed at Government Center what this blog wrote http://charlieonthembta.blogspot.com/2006/12/january-monthly-passes-are.html

jon

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:42:48 -0500

I'd say the ticket is to fleece the tourists. It's unclear if and how much a CharlieCard might cost you after they give away this first batch. Maybe it comes free if you drop $25 or $50 on it, or a monthly pass...but the paper CharlieTicket certainly costs the T less.

John

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:17:03 -0500

I'd love a answer to one simple question. Why does the (paper)Charlie Ticket exist? If the MBTA knew it was going to launch the (plastic) Charlie Card, which is newer technology and faster, does everything the Ticket can do, some transactions it can't and even saves the user $.30 (??) per ride, then why roll out a incompatiable mag stripe format that requires each gate to have two separate readers built in.

Amish Al

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:35:43 -0500

One other thing for Peter: it probably *is* true that folks are somewhat "resigned to the fact that the MBTA and other local government agencies suck and will probably always suck." (Though in fairness I should mention it wasn't too long ago that the need to get anything done with the RMV was guaranteed to be an absolute nightmare. Nowdays, you can actually get a mostly helpful answer via e-mail in the same business day, before even heading out to the Registry...unless they tell you it can now be handled via mail or internet!) Technology hard at work for all of us! OK, so one agency down, a hundred or two left to go?

Amish Al

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:29:34 -0500

Peter, No, we should not be afraid of technology at all, and yet the point you make also makes some of mine -- namely, that if implemented incorrectly, all the technology in the world won't accomplish a damned thing. As the early results seem to be showing, the implementation wasn't completely effective, AND of course the hacks don't give a damn. Under this scenario, I would much prefer to simply drop a token in a slot, not get charged $44 for a value-less Chuck Card. So I agree with you: install it once it has been studied to see what has worked where, what hasn't worked where, and how to make it work here. That didn't happen, so the allure of the card and its structure isn't grabbing me. And I'm not even one of the poor folks who lost the $44 or whatever it was. Don't forget that the minutes and/or hours they spend on the phone getting that one rectified will offset any benefits from the new system for some measureable period of time (measurable, that is, by an economist, which I am not). While we're at it, let me also mention that the flip side of your point is that we should also not embrace new methods or technologies simply for the hell of it. I challenged the idea that Jon's initial 47-second card purchase-and-load was any better than simply buying a few tokens at a booth. He said that it *would* be if there was a line of people at a booth, compared to there being a bank of machines available, even at 47 seconds. I agreed with his reasoning, but I could also argue about what would happen if there was a person waiting at each *machine* as well. Now each person ahead of Jon represents a 47-second wait, compared to 20 or 15 or possibly even 10 seconds for each person ahead of me at the token booth. One person in front of Jon, plus Jon, equals almost 100 seconds before he's done with his card. Could there be eight, nine, or even ten people ahead of me at the booth? Sure, perhaps. What's more likely: one person in front of Jon, or nine in front of me? (Aside: a tourist in front of me at the token booth can't gum up the works for anywhere near as long as he could in front of poor Jon at the machine). Truth is, we could go back and forth about it all day, but I think all it means is we cannot say for sure how much time is saved by switching to the cards. OK, now, if I know that 99% of the time I'll only need to use one ride towards my destination, and one ride back, and if it's not exactly clear that having the cards saves any time over tokens, then what benefit am I getting out of the switch to cards? I am certainly getting "negative benefit" if I run into any broken machines, or billing issues (like what happened to some of those folks), or cards being ruined by magnetism (if that can even happen), or being ripped, or having the stripe scratched up, or being rendered unusable in any way. Sure, that might happen only rarely, but if there was still a usable fare balance on it, then it is lost. You don’t lose usable fare balances with a token, unless you lose the token, just like you could lose the entire card. So if it happens even once with a card, that is infinitely more times than it would happen with a token (because the divisor for the token is zero). And all of us are certainly getting "negative benefit" when discarded cards end up thrown on the floor, which is also infinitely more so than from a token (because no one would throw away a token, so the divisor again is zero). So if it cannot be proven that the cards save time, either during their purchase or their use, and they suffer from performance deterioration that could impair their use, and they will contribute to litter infinitely more so than would a token, then what exactly is the benefit of the switch to the card system? BTW I doubt the MBTA came up with the idea solely because some forward-thinking ridership satisfaction angel realized it would be easier for the riders -- it's purely a dollars & cents consideration. Lay out a couple of bucks on the machines and cards, charge off that expense to some special infrastructure improvement account, then fire as many previous token booth staffers as possible to get the labor costs lower. Voila! We just improved the P&L. In the end, my dislike for the switch to the card system stems from my feeling that the costs simply outweigh the benefits. I think it’s slower (or at least not any faster), I don’t like the potential for usable fare balances to be rendered unusable, and I don’t like the litter factor (meanwhile, the issue of the LinkPass being shoved down subway-only riders is a different topic). If the benefits of the switch outweigh the costs for you, then I can understand why you would prefer it, and I’m not in a position to tell you otherwise. Personally, I’ve seen it in New York, DC, and London, and I’m seeing it here now – and for me, they don’t.

dashford

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:17:47 -0500

The new CharlieCards will definitely slow down the boarding of buses. With the current printed monthly and weekly passes, the bus driver can open the rear doors and those with passes can climb on, simply flashing their pass. With CharlieCards, everyone will have to use the front door, and cash-paying riders will hold up the entire line. More inconvenience from your friends at the T.

peter

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 10:54:57 -0500

Should we really be afraid of technology because of the chance it won't be implemented correctly? If so, the whole industry I work in would go under. The problem isn't the technology but that the MBTA is run by a bunch of idiots. There are automated fare systems that run perfectly well in London, Chicago, DC, New York and other cities. Did the MBTA just forget to consider that maybe they can learn something from the systems in other cities that have successfully been in place for years? There's no accountability for any government services in Boston. If someone doesn't get the job done, it doesn't matter; no one ever gets fired because the big blue political machine is in control and they protect their own. Maybe the bigger problem is that people in Boston don't seem to care anyways. They're just resigned to the fact that the MBTA and other local government agencies suck and will probably always suck.

jon

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 23:25:25 -0500

Sure, if you want to get technical about it - the LinkPass is an additional fare. There will also be an increased fare for those who are now bus-only riders...which is largely a poor, marginalized population who can't afford housing proximate to the subway lines or simply choose not to. It also makes it more expensive to ride said bus on a non-monthly pass basis (CharlieTicket v. CharlieCard fare.) Check Cashing places litter the poorer neighborhoods of Boston (have you driven down Blue Hill Ave recently?) and the people who are using their services (and often are bus patrons) will now be required to front money and store value to get the cheaper fare. But, perhaps, that's a whole other post. What the LinkPass boils down to: MBTA says you'll get more service. If you don't ride the bus, well, you better start - and GD you're gonna like it!

Amish Al

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 23:14:40 -0500

BTW doesn't the LinkPass effectively represent an additional fare increase for subway-only riders, because it not only "adds the power" of a combo pass, but also boosts the cost compared to the previously separated fare structure? How does that extra cost make sense for someone who never uses a bus?

...just call me "Amish Al"

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 23:09:43 -0500

Jon, your point about the bank of vending machines vs. a line of people at a single token booth is well-made, *if* there's a line, of course. Maybe it's not quite as easy to do apples-to-apples, as both you and I did, with good intentions of course. Peter, I think the key is "as long as it works as it's supposed to" (also, the word is "anyway", not "anyways"). At around the same time this article ran, the one about certain machines having problems taking credit cards hit the Bostonist tape. Sure, teething problems perhaps, but it didn't sound like the T staffers were looking to jump through hoops to fix the problem; many commenters said they weren't even telling people about them. If that pops up more than just occasionally, well, then perhaps there goes the convenience factor, if one starts to only "trust" machines in certain places. Meanwhile, Rhea reports about the "piles of used Charlie Cards all over the place"; didn't anybody check out what happens in New York, where the used MetroCards are also simply dumped right out onto the street/platform/floor? Just what was wrong with there being a coin called a "token" which provided one-time entrance to a means of public conveyance, as opposed to a card which may or may not have value, which may or may not be rechargeable, at a machine which may or may not work, tended to by staffers who certainly don't give a damn? When it "works", maybe I'll change my tune. Until then...

jon

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:12:41 -0500

The trick will be when you take the bus, then get on the subway. You'll be charged bus price for the first ride, but when you tap to get into the subway you'll be charged for the incremental cost. I'm not going to pretend to have figured out what charliecard v. non-charliecard post-increase fares are going to be.

peter

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:02:55 -0500

You can put both a pass and money on there. Also, there's no more need for bus transfers; when you take bus 1 and pay with your CharlieCard, when you board the connecting bus, you won't be charged.

Stuart

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:59:57 -0500

A friend picked up an empty card for me today, and I'm looking forward to first use. I timed it right too, as the $10 ticket I bought a while back was exhausted yesterday. Except I was 20 cents short for my last bus! Oops. The driver was nice enough to let me on since I had no change (I would have given a dollar, but the machine had already taken the 70 cents). The card aspect I will appreciate most is the free transfers.

jon

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:59:06 -0500

yeah, you can certainly put a pass on it...but I'm not sure if that works until after Jan. 1 (the option might not be there yet). Regular monthly pass people (like those who get them from work or school) will be issued new CharlieCard in lieu of a monthly pass CharlieTicket like they get now. Oh, and the monthly pass will be called LinkPass for subway riders and has the power of a combo pass starting Jan. 1...

anne

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:55:37 -0500

Here's my question - can you put a pass on it? Or is it only money? Because I can't see the point unless it recognizes that you have a monthly pass.

jon

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:33:18 -0500

Well, they had a bank of CharlieVendingMachines where there would have been only one token booth - so I guess I factored in waiting in line behind two or three (or eight or nine) people. 47 seconds seems like a comparable average. Rhea - *hopefully* it will stop the litter!

peter

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:37:23 -0500

Bostonians are never happy, are they? Trust me, the CharlieCard is a good thing. Or it is as long as it works as it's supposed to. In the past, having used the Oyster card (London) and ChicagoCard, being in Boston and having to use tokens was like going back to the Stone Age. There's absolutely no reason why anyone should prefer tokens unless they're Amish (but I guess the real Amish wouldn't be riding the T anyways). I've been waiting for this day for *years*. Hopefully this is the first of many good enhancements to public transportation in the city of Boston.

Rhea

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:48:05 -0500

Thanks for the info. So this will stop the piles of used Charlie Cards all over the place.

Al Trent

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 11:46:30 -0500

Nice effort, good article, good update. However, I don't agree it would have taken nearly a minute (47 seconds?) to buy four tokens at a booth -- maybe one-third of that, max, and probably more like ten seconds. And certainly less time to eyeball your change afterwards than it would "making sure it's there" on the screen.