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A contradiction that only the MBTA could pull off

Credit/Debit Card Only fare machine that doesn't take credit or debit cards

At lunchtime today, I went to purchase my July commuter rail pass. The Charlie sales machine in the State Transportation Buliding accepts only credit or debit cards - which doesn't make sense, given that the machine is in the STB where many tourists congregate and where the T has its administrative offices - and is clearly marked as so (see first photo).

So I tap the "Purchase Charlie Ticket" button, and immediately get a flashing message "Sorry No Credit Or Debit Cards Accepted." (see second photo)

Another classic MBTA fail when they can't properly maintain what's effectively an ATM machine, except that it gives you fares instead of cash. At least when the average ATM is out of order, it tells you it's out of order BEFORE you attempt to make a transaction.

In fairness, I am aware there are occasions where the T's entire system that runs these machines goes down (they are usually very diligent about sending alerts when this happens). There is no indication that such a failure happened earlier today.

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Comments

When the basic choices are

  • Incompetence
  • Maliciousness

I'll go with incompetence every time.

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Rather, it's more like sheer carelessness and laziness. Ever hear the term "sloppy code?" It's the reason why the majority of people like me who type fast and use this device called a MOUSE - which has been around for decades - suddenly find that the font or size or other characteristics of the document or spreadsheet we're working on will completely and randomly change on us even though we DID NOT DELIBERATELY REQUEST to change it because of "oh, that's the underlying default value" for the parameter. And, despite the gazillion or so 'updates' they've made to their software over the past three decades, the programmers at Microsoft are so lazy and sloppy in executing their work that they haven't figured out a way to allow the end users to intentionally disable this now largely unnecessary and useless "feature".

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is indistinguishable from incompetence.

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Most people nowadays prefer to use plastic instead of carrying around cash to pay for everything. Even if you have the correct change, using cash with any vending machine is often problematic, especially with paper currency.

Having fare vending machines at locations that aren't actual stations is merely a convenience, and not a necessity. Yes, it's unfortunate it was obviously out-of-order today, but you'll have plenty of other opportunities to purchase a new pass before the end of the month.

If machines at remote locations also accepted cash, then the would have to schedule armored trucks to go there and collect it. Cash accepting machines also require more maintenance and/or more frequently go out-of-order, than card-only machines.

Most ATM machines won't tell you they're out-of cash until after you ask for it. They can do other things, such as tell you your account balance. Even if it couldn't process credit card payments, the Charlie Card machine probably could tell you the balance and status of your card.

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with credit or debit cards and use cash instead (and MANY people I know still do that), why should they be inconvenienced by having to go to a location with a "will accept cash" machine instead of being able to use the machine that's most convenient to them? Oh, because it's TOO MUCH EFFORT for the entitty that collects the cash from those machines to have to go to an additional location? Even though the STB is located between Arlington and Boylston stations, and the 'money truck' has to pass by it anyway when servicing those stations. If you ask me, that's just nonsense. and more "penny wise and pound foolish" (pardon the pun) thinking at work.

As for ATM machines, I've NEVER encountered one that refused to complete my transaction AFTER I initiated it because it was "out of cash.". However, I've encountered several that indicate they are "out of order" on the screen BEFORE I even get a chance to begin the transaction. So, obviously the banks have figured it out. But not the MBTA apparently.

Lastly, obviously this was a minor inconvenience for me. And yes, I am well aware that I still have many other opportunities to purchase my July pass before the end of this month. But I think you missed my larger point - that there is still something fundamentally wrong when a machine that is clearly labeled "Credit/Debit Cards Only" then tells you it won't take credit or debit cards.

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You didn't initiate a transaction. You just cleared the screen saver. The buttons to buy a ticket are greyed out. And there is a prominent "out of order" message on the red bar at the top of the screen.

Your time invested: about a quarter of a second. It's not like you went through 15 submenus, typed in all kinds of personal information, and then had it fail at the end, leaving an open question if your card had been charged, like certain websites I've used.

The machines are pretty good at letting you know which features aren't working, and disabling the buttons that make no sense because of what isn't working. If this machine was a full-service one that took cash, the buttons wouldn't be greyed out when the credit system was down.

It is unfortunate that the credit system went down at this machine. But it happens. Who knows what the root cause was, or if the T's credit system goes down more than the average merchant's.

As far as the inconvenience of having a credit-only machine there, how many office buildings have T vending machines? One: this one. Anywhere else you'd have to walk to a subway station. So you're better off than most downtown employees.

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"Purchase Charlie Ticket" button - which is clearly initiating a transaction.. That's when I got the "no cards accepted' message.

And lose the "but it's only a X second inconvenience" snark, it adds absolutely nothing useful to the discussion.

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How did you push the "purchase CharlieTicket" button, when it's clearly greyed out in both of your photos?

The goal here is to minimize passengers' inconvenience, by making it clear early-on when something is broken so you don't waste your time. So the amount of time you wasted is the most relevant fact here. My point was the outage was unfortunate, but the machine did a good job of preventing you from wasting any significant time finding out about it.

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You would have a point if the T installed a machine that was designed to take cards only, but intentionally programmed not to take cards.

But this was a system outage.

What would you do differently if you were in charge?

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Unless you have a secret source at the MBTA that can verify your theory, there was absolutely NO EVIDENCE that this was due to a system-wide outage.

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There is no evidence that it wasn't a system-wide outage.

There is no evidence, period.

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I didn't say system-wide outage. I said system outage.

In other words, something broke with the machine. It wasn't designed to be a credit-cards-only but no-credit-cards machine.

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If a person CHOOSES to pay cash, they know they need to find a machine that accepts cash. It's a pretty simple concept, unless you've got a huge resentment for the T and a loose grasp on reality. .

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One time was due to a network crash that didn't have anything to do with the MBTA - except for shutting down their ability to process credit/debit payments.

These things aren't always the T's fault.

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you would have noted that I considered the possibility that a larger network crash caused the issue. But I promptly discounted that after realizing the T hadn't sent out any alerts or tweets indicating so, and after questioning a co-worker who commented about how he had just bought their pass at a different location in about the same time frame as I had attempted to buy mine.

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The point stands, absent any evidence either way.

These computer networks ain't my thing - and they ain't your thing either. You have no evidence of either possibility upon which to fling your presumptuous bile.

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Dude, relax. It's a machine. Things like this happen. Why do you take T blunders so personally? If you expect perfection, you're standards are way too high for anything man made, let alone the T.

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At Hynes once.

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Roadman, one thing you fail to take into consideration, maybe the card reader id out of commission. Or the touch pad that read the Charlie card. Or the printer that make Charlie tickets. Not everything is a conspiracy.

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and the ensuing conversation is a perfect real-life definition of "pick your battles"

oh my.

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"there are occasions where the T's entire system that runs these machines goes down. There is no indication that such a failure happened earlier today."

Just see if the other machines work - DUH!

"A Contradiction that Only the MBTA Could Pull Off"?

You don't think they built those machines, do you?

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The MBTA contracted out the design and manufacture of the Charlie Card machines. They are just as much responsible for their flaws as they are for those of a Red Line car. (I was this close - // - to getting a job writing the manuals for the Charlie Card machines. Maybe things would have turned out differently ... )

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