AFC/Charlie ribbon cutting & first impression

Another short term problem I see with this new system is the fact you cannot buy a return trip fare(a token!). That could be a problem if you are going to events or Red Sox games.

Also on the commuter rail, they started giving us conductors some information on new types of charlie tickets. The machines can vend monthly passes up to zone 8, and also can sell 12/10 ride tickets for any zone! I will be interested to see how easy they are to read and punch... especially at rush hour.

sery2831 wrote:Another short term problem I see with this new system is the fact you cannot buy a return trip fare(a token!). That could be a problem if you are going to events or Red Sox games.

You can add more than the cost of a current token onto the ticket so there's no need to worry there.

Also on the commuter rail, they started giving us conductors some information on new types of charlie tickets. The machines can vend monthly passes up to zone 8, and also can sell 12/10 ride tickets for any zone! I will be interested to see how easy they are to read and punch... especially at rush hour.

Ever see the system in use down in New York and I believe New Jersey as well? I believe the commuter rail tickets will be similar to what they have. They have a system where you punch in the stations you are travelling between and prints out the ticket(s). All the conductor has to do is punch a hole in the ticket in the stated place. I doubt the old style onboard ticketing will go away, but if it's down like New York things for you guys will be a whole lot easier!

You can add more than the cost of a current token onto the ticket so there's no need to worry there.

Yes, but you can ONLY use that at a station where Charlie Tickets are in use! So right now, if you get on at the airport, and you get a charlie ticket that's good for more than one trip... You can only use it at the Aqurium to come back, otherwise it's no good!

sery2831 wrote:

You can add more than the cost of a current token onto the ticket so there's no need to worry there.

Yes, but you can ONLY use that at a station where Charlie Tickets are in use! So right now, if you get on at the airport, and you get a charlie ticket that's good for more than one trip... You can only use it at the Aqurium to come back, otherwise it's no good!

Oh well. Too bad. Penalty for getting on at a station not meant for locals.
It's not like it will kill you to spend a few seconds getting the token BEFORE exitting Kenmore Station!

efin98 wrote:Oh well. Too bad. Penalty for getting on at a station not meant for locals.

What? Locals fly too you know. I think all of the stations are intended for everyone...

savebowdoin wrote:Another interesting note... I decided to re-use a card and add value to it, only to discover that it just eats the original card and prints out a new one. I thought it would save paper by reusing the same card, but all it does is prevent the old one from ending up on the floor. Do other systems do this? I have never looked hard enough in NYC to see if they re-use cards when value is added to it.

In NYC, the single-ride subway and local bus transfer MetroCard tickets (which you get if you pay cash on the buses) are the only paper tickets currently used on NYC Transit. These can only be used once so you can't add value to them. When you put the local bus paper transfer in the bus's MetroCard slot, the farebox eats it. You can add value onto the Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards, but you can't on the Unlimited Ride cards.

BTW, in NYC it's very common to find discarded MetroCards all over station floors and even on tracks. This is because the turnstiles don't eat the cards - you have to swipe them. And with the Unlimited Ride cards once you reach the end of the time period (one, seven or 30 days), you can't put any more money on them, so people just throw them away.

savebowdoin wrote:Penalty for using stations not meant for locals? What about those who live near and work at the airport, or the Boston waterfront, and have no other means of transportation?? Would you suggest that they walk to the next closest station on a daily basis rather than use Airport and Aquarium, meant 'only for tourists?'

No other means of transportation? Give me a break. I know that area of East Boston well and I know for a fact that 1. the station is inaccessible to local 2. there is adequate public transit not only nearby, actually right out in front of their door on two different streets in most sections of East Boston and 3. Airport is not meant to be a commuting station right from the start. The station is simply not accessbile for locals making them take the bus to the next nearest station at Maverick or at Wood Island.

And those who "work" at the airport either take their car or take the free Massport shuttles to employee lot in Chelsea or park at their company's private lots in East Boston or Chelsea and take that company's shuttle buses.

mattster wrote:

efin98 wrote:Oh well. Too bad. Penalty for getting on at a station not meant for locals.

What? Locals fly too you know. I think all of the stations are intended for everyone...

It's meant for those FLYING not travelling locally. That's why it's located away from city streets, that's why it has no locall bus service connected to it, that's why it was chosen to get the Charlie Tickets first. Also why eventually the Blue Line will be the first full line to get the tickets.

Airport station is designed to have a second entrance from the adjoining East Boston neighborhood. I don't know if it's open yet, but if it isn't it will be soon.

Ron Newman wrote:Airport station is designed to have a second entrance from the adjoining East Boston neighborhood. I don't know if it's open yet, but if it isn't it will be soon.

I stand by what I said. It's not a neighborhood station, has never been.

efin98 wrote:

mattster wrote:

efin98 wrote:Oh well. Too bad. Penalty for getting on at a station not meant for locals.

What? Locals fly too you know. I think all of the stations are intended for everyone...

It's meant for those FLYING not travelling locally. That's why it's located away from city streets, that's why it has no locall bus service connected to it, that's why it was chosen to get the Charlie Tickets first. Also why eventually the Blue Line will be the first full line to get the tickets.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the original point being made by sery2831 is that people might mistakenly fill the cards with fare for multiple trips because they aren't aware that only two stations use the new system.

That includes non-locals, more so than anyone else I would think because they'd make that mistake before any Bostonians would. So if this station is not intended for locals, why is it the one that gets the new system that would cause more confusion for non-locals than any other station?

The old airport station was always used by locals... and even had a small parking lot. Right now they are being shafted cause there entrance has been under construction for a long time!

BUT lets get back on topic here!!! What's the solution going to be for when the entire line is converted, but you are going to return from somewhere else on the system?

sery2831 wrote:The old airport station was always used by locals... and even had a small parking lot. Right now they are being shafted cause there entrance has been under construction for a long time!

It's not being shafted, in fact the people of East Boston have the luxury of having their stations extremely close together. I've walked the route multiple times and I am not in the best of shape and if I can do it easilly anyone can. And if you really want to be specific it's at most 1 mile between Maverick and Wood Island with Porter Street(the street the old Airport station was on) directly between them. That's less than a half a mile AT MOST that anyone would have to travel to get to the nearest Blue Line station. A few blocks, hardly a hike. If people can't stand to walk that far the 116/117 or the 121 are at their disposal.

BUT lets get back on topic here!!! What's the solution going to be for when the entire line is converted, but you are going to return from somewhere else on the system?

The same as now- you would have to buy a token before you leave the station.



I wouldn't be so quick to bash the T over the Charlie Cars. It took New York several years before their system was in full operation, it took them a decade before they finally retired their last tokens. It takes a while to do things, to expect things to happen overnight is deceiving yourself. Give the T a break for once.

I understand this wont be overnight, and New York didnt do away with the tokens until the metro card was 100% up and running. And then they still allowed the tokens to be used for a while. My point I am driving at is the T should still allow people to get tokens where the charlie card is in use until the system is almost totally in place. This going to be larger issue when the system gets to more station. The traveling public will be totally confused on what to do!!

And far as buying a token on the way out, I am sure your every now and then rider is not going to think that far in advance. On the commuter rail, you know how many people buy one way tickets, when they know they are coming home that day on the train!!!

sery2831 wrote:I understand this wont be overnight, and New York didnt do away with the tokens until the metro card was 100% up and running. And then they still allowed the tokens to be used for a while. My point I am driving at is the T should still allow people to get tokens where the charlie card is in use until the system is almost totally in place. This going to be larger issue when the system gets to more station. The traveling public will be totally confused on what to do!!

And far as buying a token on the way out, I am sure your every now and then rider is not going to think that far in advance. On the commuter rail, you know how many people buy one way tickets, when they know they are coming home that day on the train!!!

It doesn't take much thinking, it's a non issue. Casual riders aren't going to give a damn about the cards nor are they going to give a damn about the tokens. They will buy one for each segment before entering the turnstyles. They are more concerned with getting where they have to go than if they have to buy another token. Simply a non issue.

If it was as big of an issue as you are making it out to be then you think the T would have started with ONE station from the start and not all? Especially the most single ended journey station in the system? NO! They would have done the entire system at once. Simply a non issue.