March 1, 2008
Here We Go Again: Charlie Chokes on Credit Cards
Last night, Bostonist received the unsettling news that the add-value machines at T stops weren't accepting credit or debit cards. On the last day of the month. As in, prime time for adding passes to their Charlie Cards.
A tipper said that, after delivering the news, an MBTA employee yelped, "Don't kill the messenger!"
The employee had reason to be concerned, as finding out one's card has been denied repeatedly makes people snippy. Real snippy. Making matters worse, the add-value system has gone on the fritz before, on the first day of February. This would suggest that Charlie takes credit, but he sure can't take volume.
Did you have a problem with the credit machine yesterday?
Victoria Welch contributed to this post.
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I refilled my monthly pass on a machine at North Station last night, worked fine.
This one is not a shocker. There's worse to consider. How about where we are and how we got here?
If one calmly observes the "track" record of the MBTA, it's fairly logical to deduce that anything much beyond steel wheels against steel rails is a severe challenge that no amount of outside assistance can overcome. The MBTA cannot seem to get a train/bus to arrive on time (or in some cases at all); its trains, with the exception being the Green Line, enjoy a nearly-unencumbered right-of-way, yet seem to exhibit frequent difficulty in rain, snow, cold, and heat. My car will start at 10 below. The T's "commuter rail" fleet has to sit with engines idling so they'll run in the morning.
These problems cannot be attributed to a failure of high technology: diesel engines, large electric motors, and lightbulbs on a crude control board do not qualify.. and frankly the collective Edison-era system is likely confusing to the braniacs who run this mess anyway.
If the T cannot seem to manage these iron-age things, why is it the public continues to accept/allow the MBTA to manage far more complex and highly failure-prone systems such as electronic fare collection? Of course, something to collect fares is needed, never mind the simple effort of a conductor on a commuter rail trail to walking down an aisle and saying "tickets please".
Could it be that the (very) general public has no clue? And could it be that they have no clue not of their own fault but because, at the end of the day, the (very) general media will pretty much mouth what the MBTA tells them to?
Why is it that the (very) general public trusts the MBTA with their bank accounts when they repeatedly lie and use their highly-paid professional P-R staff to turn another case of idiocy and incompetence into "nothing to worry about"? Does the (very) general public recall when the "Automated Fare Collection System" was first instituted? It charged customers' accounts, then told them (on the screen) that the transaction didn't succeed. Many (naturally) tried again, and again they got charged. It was only when the statement came in at month's end did the customer realize they were screwed. And guess how many frikking months it to the overly-relaxed, highly-vacationed, public "servants" at 10 Park Plaza to act?
Finally (to the relief of the reader), why is it that we must learn about these things through the (very) general public at all? It would be, for this critic, no shock to discover that the finger-on-the-pulse of the cadaver T management discover this problem by reading about it in a blog.
The MBTA, in summary, has and continues to demonstrate in fine fashion, what a completely useless "authority" it is, and what fools the public are to allow it to continue.
Sending petitions... writing complaint letters... and begging the Beacon Hill types to do something has never worked. What's needed is a massive public education program that reveals this "authority" as the corrupt and unworkable sham that it is. Truth revealed can be overwhelming. The Governor, and the political hacks that benefit from this mess, will have to acquiesce and move on to another scam where they may employ their brother-in-law.
When the Emperor has no clothes, the obvious will follow, but being eternally a pessimist, I expect absolutely NOTHING to change.
I had no problems using my debit card at Wellington yesterday. In fact, I've never had any problems with my Charlie Card. It just seems as though many people aren't happy unless they are complaining about the smallest things.
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