non-Sunday Sunday service

Does anyone know what the T's official policy is for free Sunday guests when they are running Sunday service on a day other than Sunday?

The monthly passes clearly say that you get a free guest until the end of Sunday service (at least the old ones did, CharlieTicket passes do not list any detailed information). A few years ago, an Orange Line T employee first told me that I got a free guest whenever Sunday service was running.

Since then, I have been able to get a free guest without fail on the Orange and Red Lines (including these last 2 Mondays), but the Green Line attendants have always refused the guest. I have tried it at both manned (Kenmore & Gov't Ctr) and un-manned (Symphony) stations, but have been turned down every time. I have not yet had reason to ride the Blue Line during one of these holiday schedules, so I do not know how they handle it.

Why do the Green Line attendants treat the holiday schedule differently from the other lines? Has anyone else had similar experiences?

I've always heard that the guest free policy applies only when the calendar says its Sunday, not when the T says its Sunday. But, I've also never tried on a holiday either...

My understanding has always been that it applies only to actual Sundays.

Ron Newman wrote:My understanding has always been that it applies only to actual Sundays.

That is how I always interperted it as well.

MAG wrote: The monthly passes clearly say that you get a free guest until the end of Sunday service (at least the old ones did, CharlieTicket passes do not list any detailed information).

An attendant told me that it worked only on Sundays.

Now, that the new Charlie passes do not mention free guests, is this policy still in effect?

Probably not, I guess.

Now with the new system, I don't think you'll be able to bring free guests on a Sunday anymore. But check the MBTA's website to see if it says otherwise.

Robert Paniagua wrote:Probably not, I guess.

Now with the new system, I don't think you'll be able to bring free guests on a Sunday anymore. But check the MBTA's website to see if it says otherwise.

From the horse's mouth (the Charlie Card FAQ page at mbta.com):

Sunday guest free? CharlieTicket monthly passes continue to allow passholders to take a friend for free on Sundays. At a station with our new fare collection equipment, the pass should be inserted into the ticket slot, removed from the ticket exit slot and then reinserted for your guest. On Sundays, these passback privileges will allow for 2 patrons to enter through the fare gate.

I think that the confusion stemmed from the term "end of Sunday service." This was probably added to keep someone from nit-picking the fact that the last trips on many routes on Sundays actually operate into Monday morning, after midnight. Doesn't mean you get to use the guest free on Monday holidays too.

I guess maybe the T employees should figure out which way they want to honor the Sunday guests. Like I said in my original post, I have been able to get a free holiday guest on numerous occasions on the Orange and Red Line. A few years ago, the Mass Ave. Orange Line fare collector even encouraged me to use the free guest during holiday Sunday service. I guess I will just avoid trying it on the Green Line during future holiday Sunday service days.

Sunday guest free? CharlieTicket monthly passes continue to allow passholders to take a friend for free on Sundays. At a station with our new fare collection equipment, the pass should be inserted into the ticket slot, removed from the ticket exit slot and then reinserted for your guest. On Sundays, these passback privileges will allow for 2 patrons to enter through the fare gate.

Oh wow, I didn't know that even with the new Charlie system, they still do a free guest on Sundays. That's good then, as long as that's still in tact.

Robert Paniagua wrote:Oh wow, I didn't know that even with the new Charlie system...

See?

Yeah, I see now! somethinf we all need to know "just in case" we have a companion to take in on Sundays.