Since the MBTA’s installation of the CharlieCard almost three weeks ago, T riders have complained they are not getting what they pay for.
“A lot of people are very frustrated, overall,” said T Riders Union organizer Lee Matsueda. “They’re seeing a cycle of fare increases, and in return, they don’t feel they’re getting their money’s worth.”
The MBTA increased the standard fare Jan. 1 from $1.25 to $1.70 but began charging $2 for riders who pay with the new plastic CharlieCard. The MBTA also started charging full price for outbound above-ground trolley rides, including those on the Green line’s B branch to Boston College.
MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said the extra 30 cents those with cash or a CharlieTicket must pay was implemented to encourage riders to use the CharlieCard, which is meant to speed up fare collection by being tapped on a sensor instead of swiped.
She defended the price increase as a necessary measure for keeping the T running.
“The MBTA is suffering from a great financial hardship,” she said. According to last year’s figures, the MBTA was $8 billion in debt, the main reason officials cited for introducing the fare increases.
“What we tried to do was make it fair across the board,” Rivera said. “We got rid of unfair fares.”
Matsueda said the fare increases are not yet paying off, because the MBTA has not done enough to explain the new system to riders, who often struggle with faulty or confusing ticket dispensers.
“The CharlieCards have heightened the tension between drivers and riders,” Matsueda said. “It’s not an easy system for new employees to explain. Everyday, employees are bombarded with questions.”
Riders in Chelsea and East Boston have had problems with CharlieCards because they have not been adequately educated on the new system, Matsueda said.
“They don’t trust it,” he said.
Boston University College of Fine Arts freshman Sarah Leary said she relies on the T to take her from her dorm at West Campus to her first class at Morse Auditorium.
“I’m used to paying $2 on the New York subway system, but it’s New York,” Leary said. “The MBTA charges New York prices but doesn’t deliver New York efficiency.”
Though the monthly pass now includes subway and local bus transportation, it now costs $59, opposed to $44 per month for just the subway pass before the fare increase.
Simmons College junior Brittany Oheim, who bought a monthly pass, said she has to take the T from Allston to get to class every day.
“It’s obnoxious that I have to get a pass for the T and the bus when I don’t ride the bus,” she said.
Instead of buying a monthly pass, CFA sophomore Todd Gaebe said he would just ride the T less.
“I will definitely think twice before riding the T now,” he said, calling the January fare increase “awful.”
Some riders complained of delays caused by the new CharlieCard, saying they don’t understand why the price was set at $1.70, which is harder to break into change.
“The T has done bare minimum,” Roger Williams University sophomore John Keller said.