CharlieCard distribution

[xxv.livejournal.com]

Has anyone gotten a CharlieCard yet? I hear they were supposed to be handing them out to commuters today, but I didn't see anyone at Davis.

MBTA jargon note: CharlieCards are the RFID cards that you wave over the dark grey rectangles on the new turnstiles. CharlieTickets are the paper cards that jam the turnstiles. CharliePasses are the thin plastic cards (cleverly mislabeled "CharlieTicket") that they're deprecating.

Update: I think I made up the name "CharliePass", although I swear I saw it somewhere in the MBTA literature.
Update #2: Davis gets them starting tomorrow. Other stations get them at other times.

Comments

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

they were trying to give them out at Harvard Station this morning. I'm getting one through work, so I passed.

[ron_newman]

The schedule I've seen says they'll distribute CharlieCards at Davis tomorrow.

My monthly pass is paper, not plastic. I buy it from the machine each month.

[xxv.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I got a paper one this month too. An example of terrible misuse of naming, as it uses the CharlieTicket system (the new account numbering) and says "CharlieTicket" on the back. It does say "Combo Pass" on it, though.

Hoping you can help

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Hey Ron, you seem to generally be on the up-and-up, so you may be able to help me with this:

From what I understand, as someone who does NOT have a monthly pass, I will be able to pick up a plastic CharlieCard tomorrow at Davis and then load it up with money at the Charlie machines. Then I'l be able to tap it to the square boxes on the gates to ride the T. Each time I ride, money will be taken off my card. I can keep filling it up at the machines and, eventualy, online.

My questions are:
1) Is this correct?
2) When I do this, will I be paying the normal $1.70, or will I be paying the $2.00 charged to the "Ticket" holders?
3) When I do this, do I qualify for the free bus transfer (when it happens)?

I read the info on the MBTA website, and I think I have the info right, but I am not sure.

Thanks in advance! Your's -- or anybody's! -- help is greatly appreciated!!

[taxine.livejournal.com]

No one at Alewife this monring, either.

[kelmit.livejournal.com]

I had seen someone at Davis use an RFID card on Friday... don't know where he got it, though.

[ron_newman]

Might have been an employee, or someone with a handicap or senior pass.

[ron_newman]

This ad says where the T will be distributing them each day. Davis and Alewife are tomorrow. I'm puzzled by the omission of Porter Square.

[ckd]

At least Porter makes some sense since folks who are connecting to/from the commuter rail won't be able to use them. That doesn't explain why they're doing it at Back Bay and Malden Center, though. (Especially since Back Bay will have them at the pass sales office.)

I wonder if they're skipping some stops based on the level of pass usage; I suspect Kendall/MIT, for example, is sufficiently heavy on employer pass program folks that they don't think the need for "retail" CharlieCards is as high as other locations.m

[kpht.livejournal.com]

Nice. So unless I want to go to work 3 hours early, I don't get one, since I don't start work till 12:30. BOO HISS.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

And South Station.

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

Schedule of pass distribution: http://www.mbta.com/pdf/CharlieCard_Dist_Ad_11_06.pdf (PDF link)

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

Damn!

[xxv.livejournal.com]

Off topic: As I can't find your contact info easily, you should contact me sometime regarding conlangs. People who know what they are are rare enough, let alone people who create them and are nearby :-)

[ron_newman]

I'd love to use CharlieCard for next month's pass, but I can't. That's because I sometimes ride the commuter train from Porter to North Station, and the card isn't good on that yet. Supposed to be coming later next year. Meanwhile, I'll have to keep buying a "Zone 1A" CharlieTicket pass.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

At some point zone 1a and zone 1b are going to be merged, or so I hear...

Does anyone know whether holders of the new bus pass will have to pay a full subway fare to take the train or will be able to pay the "step-up" fare only?

oh, also

[matthew miller (from livejournal.com)]

I thought Porter Square was "1B" -- does the Zone 1A pass work for the commuter rail there too?

[xxv.livejournal.com]

In an example of keen planning on the part of the MBTA, apparently you can't transfer your balance / pass to one of the new cards. Note their clever timing of releasing them 4 days into the month, to ensure that everyone already bought December's passes.

[ron_newman]

That is deliberate, actually. There are still about eight un-converted stations, so they don't want anyone using CharlieCard for monthly passes until those stations are finished.

[countlibras.livejournal.com]

Regarding the name of the Charlie Card, you're not wrong - I've had literature at work and they listed it as the "Link Pass" in more than once instance. It really confused me for a good while there.

[countlibras.livejournal.com]

PS. The RFID is the Charlie Card while the paper copy is the Charlie Ticket. Previously no one had the Charlie Card except an employee, or someone with a handicap or senior pass.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

Nice. So unless I want to go to work 3 hours early, I don't get one, since I don't start work till 12:30. BOO HISS.

[librarybrandy.livejournal.com]

If I don't happen to get down there while they're handing out free cards (because I have this wacky thing called A JOB), am I going to have to pay a special fee for the card later? (And if so, how much?) Do they have the hours posted, when they'll be there handing out cards? All it says on the flyers linked above is "rush hour," but that could be anytime between 4 and 6:30 in the afternoon.

A lot of information here

[mderidder.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of information here, including some powerpoint presentation.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/startsandstops/blog/2006/11/charlies_coming_1.html

[glowroper.livejournal.com]

RFID chip enabled cards are the harbinger of the Mark of the Beast.

Just sayin'.

[ceo]

I'm pretty sure that the CharlieCards are not actually RFID cards; they're proximity cards like some corporate keycards. I can't dig up a cite at the moment, though.

CharlieCard Clarification

[ktsurfdk.livejournal.com]

Just to clarify some of everyone's concerns, the Link Pass is the name of the monthly pass after the fare increase takes affect on January 1, 2007. As of January 15th, all monthly passes (excluding the commuter rail, will be automatically be loaded onto a CharlieCard (if automatic renewal isn't something you have, you can easily do it at the loading machines.

Charlie Tickets are paper tickets that are meant to be temporary. They have a magnetic strip that when insearted into the faregates/boxes, the fare is deducted. CharlieCards (note technically there's no space after Charlie) are proximity cards that work just like the paper tickets but don't have to be inserted into the gates. Hold them to the black box and the fare will be deducted.

When the fares go up, the CharlieCard will be the cheapest way to ride the T as it will cost $1.70 to ride the subways (with free transfer to the buses) and $1.25 to ride the bus (with a $0.45 surcharge when transfering to the subway, for a total of $1.70). Without the CharlieCard, you will pay $2.00 to ride the subway and about $1.60 for the bus with no transfer privaleges. This is meant to discourage the use of the tickets and cash and increase the T's prepaid revenues (before transit has even occurred).

Here is a link to a powerpoint presentation that was given to the press stating exactly when and where cards are being distributed: http://cache.boston.com/news/special/startsnstops/charliecard.ppt

Hope that clarifies things. I got my Card at Harvard today and it works just fine, though the T has done a terrible job telling people what the Card is.

Re: CharlieCard Clarification

[ron_newman]

Why January 15? I thought next month's passes become available on December 15.