While the MBTA works out the kinks in its new automated fare system, riders anticipate that CharlieCards will improve T travel once they catch on.
A week ago, the MBTA began to distribute the reusable fare cards, which it hopes will speed up fare payment on subways and buses. To use the cards, riders tap them against a scanner instead of sliding or inserting them through a reader like paper CharlieTickets, saving valuable seconds.
Despite the inevitable growing pains of a new system, students were largely optimistic about the prospects of an automated system. Aside from Massachusetts, BU’s largest contingent of students is from New York, where automated Metro Cards are the norm.
“Time will tell,” Nicole Thalheimer, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said of the effectiveness of the system. “A lot of people [at BU] buy T passes for convenience but don’t really use them enough to make them worthwhile. This way they can pay for exactly the number of times they actually use the T.”
Starting in January, to encourage use of the new system, the MBTA will charge riders using CharlieCards $1.70 on the T and $1.25 on the bus, while those using CharlieTickets or cash will need to pay $2.00 and $1.50, respectively.
“I’m not happy about the raised T prices,” said CAS sophomore Rachel Pomeroy, “but I guess we can’t do anything about that. I think the new cards will be a huge improvement over the tickets they have now.
“For one thing, it’ll be a big paper-saver, and people will stop throwing them all over the ground.”
A spokesman for the T Riders Union expressed support for the new automated fare system.
“It’s a good way to keep track of ridership,” said TRU community organizer Rene Mardones. “Right now, the MBTA doesn’t have a lot of data about the number and types of people who use the T, especially in low-income areas.”
“We hear from riders that buses are overcrowded and late,” he said, and the new fare system will help pinpoint these situations.
According to a poll on the MBTA website, only 20 percent of those surveyed before last Monday evening knew where they could pick up a free CharlieCard. As of last night, almost 4,000 people had voted but the percentage stayed about the same.
Mardones said he was concerned by the poll results. The MBTA needs to devote more time to informing the public of the changes to the system, he said.
“The T ambassadors [who were on hand to give out cards last week] are helpful now, but there is no plan for them to be out after the cards are distributed,” he said.
Mardones said he was also concerned that information about the changes to the system was not accessible to non-English-speakers until recently. The MBTA agreed to distribute informational pamphlets in different languages, but only after the T Riders Union voiced its concerns, Mardones said.
The Boston Globe reported last week that some riders faced problems when they tried to buy monthly passes from machines. Their credit cards were charged, but they never received the passes.
“We are working with the customers who were affected by the glitch, and they will be refunded,” MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera told The Daily Free Press. “We’re doing everything we can to prevent that from happening again.”
The MBTA plans to convert several more stations to the automated fare machines by the end of the year and will complete the project soon after.
In stations along the Green Line that had already been converted to the new system, many riders continued to use monthly passes or CharlieTickets with remaining balances, even after MBTA officials handed them the cards. In other stations still undergoing construction, riders had no choice but to use passes or pay in cash.
Employees will distribute cards again at Kenmore station Dec. 15 during rush hour, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. Additionally, riders can ask customer service agents or Charlie Card “ambassadors” in green aprons for cards at any station with the new machines. Cards will also be available at some Shaw’s, Store 24, 7-Eleven and other local stores, which are listed on the MBTA website. Soon, cards will be available on the website, preloaded with $5, $10 or $20.
“I think the card is brilliant,” said Allison Elvove, a College of Communication sophomore. “It’s what [Washington] D.C. does. And it’s cheaper than the tickets, so why wouldn’t you want to save money?
“Unlike the monthly pass, this one is good because it’s meant for everyone, not just people who ride the T five times a day.”