CharlieCard / Ticket discussion

[DMK]

Regrettably I have not heard that any lost pass replacement procedure has been rolled out yet. Since a lot of hoopla was made about its availability in the future, the fact it has not been announced unfortunately means it is not available yet.

And the member of the Rider Oversight Committee at best only thinks that something might be doable as of this date.

Have you gone down to either of the offices and talked to anyone in person yet?

Now if only the Red Sox or the Celtics or the Citiwang Theater would roll out a lost ticket replacment procedure ...

No, haven't ventured anywhere as yet. Wanted to get data in advance to save me the trip. Seems asking in a few forums was worthwhile.

I called and spoke to another CS person this morning and got the same answer.

As I see it, I paid in advance for a service and they are not providing the service and making no effort to assure what I paid for is honored. Took my money and ran.

If this were any other business in the the state, the AG's office would be all over them.

[danib62]

Regrettably I have not heard that any lost pass replacement procedure has been rolled out yet. Since a lot of hoopla was made about its availability in the future, the fact it has not been announced unfortunately means it is not available yet.

And the member of the Rider Oversight Committee at best only thinks that something might be doable as of this date.

Have you gone down to either of the offices and talked to anyone in person yet?

Now if only the Red Sox or the Celtics or the Citiwang Theater would roll out a lost ticket replacment procedure ...

No, haven't ventured anywhere as yet. Wanted to get data in advance to save me the trip. Seems asking in a few forums was worthwhile.

I called and spoke to another CS person this morning and got the same answer.

As I see it, I paid in advance for a service and they are not providing the service and making no effort to assure what I paid for is honored. Took my money and ran.

If this were any other business in the the state, the AG's office would be all over them.

You paid for the pass. You lost it. Deal. They tell you to safeguard it. It's the same thing with tickets to most things and most gift certificates.

[sery2831]

As I see it, I paid in advance for a service and they are not providing the service and making no effort to assure what I paid for is honored. Took my money and ran.

If this were any other business in the the state, the AG's office would be all over them.

You paid for the pass. You lost it. Deal. They tell you to safeguard it. It's the same thing with tickets to most things and most gift certificates.

The T did no wrong, it's not their fault the pass was lost. Take this as a lesson learned.

[DMK]

As I see it, I paid in advance for a service and they are not providing the service and making no effort to assure what I paid for is honored. Took my money and ran.

If this were any other business in the the state, the AG's office would be all over them.

You paid for the pass. You lost it. Deal. They tell you to safeguard it. It's the same thing with tickets to most things and most gift certificates.

The T did no wrong, it's not their fault the pass was lost. Take this as a lesson learned.

I agree there was fault on my part, but the T also can restore people's TAP passes as they have done that for my wife and transferred value to the new card. It took a few minutes at the computer at Back Bay Station.

So the process is available. It just has not been extended to the rest of the system. In fact the process has been in place quite some time, at least as far as TAP customers are concerned.

I agree the loss is our fault.

At the same time it appears that there is sufficient data available for the T to cancel the lost card and transfer value to a new one. It is all on the printed receipt and a transaction number has recorded it on their computers. The data is linked and available.

So one has to wonder why the process is not extended yet. Is it truly technical or an unwillingness because as it si they have a cash cow by the udder?

There are a lot of complaints about fare jumpers, or people piggybacking through the gates, but at the same time how much is the T making on lost cards that are not being restored on request? It's free money to them.

One has to wonder.

[diburning]

The T CAN do it, but the program has not been launched yet because they have some issues to address before opening the program to all users.

It's not because the T does not want to do it or can't do it, it's because they want to make sure all of the loopholes are closed, bugs are fixed, etc. If they released it now, I'm sure people will be complaining about the flaws and stuff. Either way, the T can't win. There will always be people complaining about something.

[l008com]

Without registering your card, they can't "cancel" it. So if they replaced it for you now, the old one would still be active and if someone picked it up off the ground, they'd be getting your rides and the T would be losing money. I do agree that they need to get the online thing online but until they do theres not much they can do. Its like cash, if you lose your cash, your cash is gone. I hope they eventually make it like the fastlane transponders where they will refill themselves by credit card automatically. And a keychain transponder (like a Mobil speedpass) would be so much more handy than a credit card.

[Disney Guy]

I'm not ready yet for the self-refilling Charlie Card. One could get lost and someone else might start using it and drain your bank account or whatever.

Also I have seen these mini-cards for supermarket discounts and even Discover Card has one to put on your keychain. I don't like them on my keychain; they give my fingers paper cuts.

And with a bunch of chip cards on your keychain, there might be a coincidental simultaneous activation of a different card, say, a Mobil Speedpass, when pressing your keychain up to the Charlie fare gate target.

[Arborway]

I'm not ready yet for the self-refilling Charlie Card. One could get lost and someone else might start using it and drain your bank account or whatever.

A self-refilling Charlie Card would only be rolled-out alongside the ability to manage (read: cancel / replace) said card online.

Also I have seen these mini-cards for supermarket discounts and even Discover Card has one to put on your keychain. I don't like them on my keychain; they give my fingers paper cuts.

Hasn't been a problem for me, but your milage may vary.

And with a bunch of chip cards on your keychain, there might be a coincidental simultaneous activation of a different card, say, a Mobil Speedpass, when pressing your keychain up to the Charlie fare gate target.

I agree it might get confused by multiple, simultaneous signals, but at least it would be physically impossible for a Charlie Card reader to in any way activate your Mobil Speedpass to any ill effect.

[ags]

My guess is that, because the TAP pass, and therefore card number, is directly linked to someone's name, it is able to be cancelled and replaced.

My guess is that the only reason the TAP pass is the only CharlieCard that can be canceled is because it gives the holder discounts. The T wouldn't want someone who found a lost card to get a DISCOUNT... but screw the person who loses a normal, loaded CharlieCard.

[BigRock]

If I was that concerned about losing the value of my CharlieCard, I would scan the front and bank of the card which also contains the serial number. If you went to the T with that printout, they might be able to do something for you with looking up the serial number of your CharlieCard. They would be able to check to see when/where you used it and you could confirm what stations you use.

[WonderlandMan]

Student charlie cards offer a discount (albeit, through specific hours), are they able to cancel those? I'm pretty sure CSA's are just on the lookout for unauthorized use of a discounted card, and try to confiscate them. I used a student charlie card long after I had graduated, and at one point somehow a CSA ran up to me and confronted me about it. Just asserted myself, and assured him he was crazy.

[diburning]

Student charlie cards offer a discount (albeit, through specific hours), are they able to cancel those? I'm pretty sure CSA's are just on the lookout for unauthorized use of a discounted card, and try to confiscate them. I used a student charlie card long after I had graduated, and at one point somehow a CSA ran up to me and confronted me about it. Just asserted myself, and assured him he was crazy.

I have not seen a student charliecard in use since my post about it. I personally tried to load value onto the card at a FVM. It does not give me the option to. I think MBTA is going to come out with ones that expire quickly or only last for a year so that people can stop using them after they graduate.

[lkitch]

Greetings, all,
Does anyone have any UPDATE information about the allegedly-intended conversion of Commuter Rail passes from monthly Charlie Ticket passes to the CharlieCard technology? It's been in the works for what--3 years now?!

My colleagues are astounded that i have to wait for a pass to be mailed to me every month (corporate program) and that i still can't tap-to-enter on the subway.

Linda, of lynn

[WonderlandMan]

I have not seen a student charliecard in use since my post about it. I personally tried to load value onto the card at a FVM. It does not give me the option to. I think MBTA is going to come out with ones that expire quickly or only last for a year so that people can stop using them after they graduate.

This was a while ago. I've lost mine and haven't used it since.

[danib62]

I just noticed this today but the scrolling LED signs on top of some FVMs are advertising that you can now put a 7-day pass on your charliecard if you go to an RST. It just seems dumb that you can only do this at an RST but this is the T we're dealing with...