new monthly "charlie" ticket/pass

my company just gave me the January 2006 "CharlieTicket". On the back it has the 'C' Combo-Pass ($71 per-month, but I get a discount).

While I get how it works generally, in the future will I have $71 to use on the 'T' system each month?

Thanks!

from the 'T' website:

The CharlieTicket is a magnetically encoded ticket that will contain either stored value or a T pass. A stored value CharlieTicket will have your fare deducted from it each time you ride the T, allowing you to pay as you go on the subway and bus. A CharlieTicket encoded with a pass will function the way your passes do today.

It seems they have done away with the monthly passes in favor for the charlie ticket! For the commuter rail the pass can easily be photo copied cause it's black and white on the side that has the info! There is no way on a rush hour train I could check all the passes by hand. What is the T thinking??

sery2831 wrote:It seems they have done away with the monthly passes in favor for the charlie ticket! For the commuter rail the pass can easily be photo copied cause it's black and white on the side that has the info! There is no way on a rush hour train I could check all the passes by hand. What is the T thinking??

I was thinking that too when I started seeing them, that these are going to be hell for conductors. I can't imagine how they expect there not to be fare evasion with these. I was also thinking that there's going to be problems at subway stations with old turnstiles, considering how often the pass readers stop working and people have to be waived thru -- but that should only be a year (or more likely two or three) until that problem largely goes away. but on the commuter rail, that's another story...People are gonna figure out how to make convincing photocopies real fast!

octr202 wrote:I was thinking that too when I started seeing them, that these are going to be hell for conductors.

There exist handheld magnetic strip readers which do just this: decide whether a pass is a valid one or not. I guess conductors will get these readers one day or another.

parovozis wrote:

octr202 wrote:I was thinking that too when I started seeing them, that these are going to be hell for conductors.

There exist handheld magnetic strip readers which do just this: decide whether a pass is a valid one or not. I guess conductors will get these readers one day or another.

Which will take even longer than looking at the passes, whether old style or new style.

But wait... There are white glossy letters "MBTA VALID PASS" at the back of a Charlie card. They can be seen at a certain angle. I bet you can't photocopy them. The old combo pass had these letters on the front side. I never paid noticed them before.

Also, the "classic" Combo Pass allowed one free guest on Sundays. Does the CC allow free rides?

parovozis wrote:But wait... There are white glossy letters "MBTA VALID PASS" at the back of a Charlie card. They can be seen at a certain angle. I bet you can't photocopy them. The old combo pass had these letters on the front side. I never paid noticed them before.

Also, the "classic" Combo Pass allowed one free guest on Sundays. Does the CC allow free rides?

Well, the current passes have that now too...and it only shows up at certain angles, certain lighting conditions, etc. Somehow I doubt it will be that easy to notice when a conductor is racing to get thru several coaches packe full at rush hour.

Never underestimate the time and effort people will expend trying to avoid paying the fare on public transportation...

I just got my new Combo Pass today. First thing I did was run off a copy of it...and the black & white side copies pretty easily. Sure, it doesn't have the security writing underneath if you make a copy, but someone could photoshop the rest of it pretty easily.

octr202 wrote: Never underestimate the time and effort people will expend trying to avoid paying the fare on public transportation...

I bet it was equally easy to scan and print in color an old pass, wasn't it? So, a conductor would have to touch it to see if it was real or faked. What's the buzz, then?

Also, there's nowhere to write your name and phone number. The old version of the pass had a non-laminated area for that.

For those of you who say it's not worth it, a few years ago my pass fell out of my pocket onto the platform at Park Street, and a few hours later, a good samaritan called to say she found it (and yes, she returned it to me too!)

Any comments on the Herald's front-page article saying how the 'T' will be able to track where you are using the CharlieCard (not CharlieTicket)?

How does your name get into he card? Is it somehow imprinted when you use a credit-card to purchase one?

The name will be electronically linked to a computer database with the information provided to the T by the passenger such as name, address, credit or debit card information so the T can automatically put money onto their cards. Also the information can be used to help track ridership and help put more or less service on bus routes or subway lines.

The cards that the T will be track wont be out for a while. Those are called the Charlie Card, right now they only have Charlie Ticket. BIG DIFFERENCE. The commuter rail someday will take the Charlie Card, the conductor will have a hand held computer read the cards. These computers will not read the Charlie Ticket. The Charlie Ticket has the info of what the pass is printed on it, where the Charlie Card will not have the info printed on it.

Chicago has had this smart card system for a while. Here is a link to how there system works. http://www.chicago-card.com/cc/pos/index.html

Guys: As a collector of railway passes and tickets does a picture exist of the new Charlie Pass(there's a name for you!) Yes-the MBTA needs to make it somewhat counterfeit-proof-a suggestions is to have punch blocks/punch days to physically inspect them-four days per month-as the LIRR does theirs-as well as a gender M/F validation. I recall going to Boston at the end of November 2000-the first day of December I looked around for the old discarded passes-Back Bay was the best spot to look-much better than North or South Station. I recall getting some in the 80s-they were much thicker then-like a credit card. Does anyone out there collect them and have old ones lying around for sale/trade? Please send a message if you do to MACTRAXX via this site. Make them as collectible as you can and make it hard if not impossible for the bad guys to counterfeit them! MACTRAXX