The tribulations of the CharlieTicket commuter
By adamg - Tue, 11/20/2007 - 12:47am.
Thanks to delays in bring the miracle that is the CharlieCard to the boonies, Jemima Pereira is forced to use a FrankenCharlieTicket, which causes her grief like you CharlieCard users couldn't imagine, from her fingers getting sucked into the slot (which hurts) to the general disdain of half the T's bus and trolley drivers. And now her ticket won't even work at Government Center because of a software glitch:
So I have a suggestion for the MBTA. Why don't you get a copy of the software on the turnstiles at Kenmore and put it on the turnstiles at Government Center, eh? ... And here's an even better suggestion: stop running a major transit system on WindowsXP.
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For us in the suburbs,
For us in the suburbs, Charlie Cards with a pre-loaded sum may be purchased on-line using the T's website. Best news is that there is no extra charge (none of those annoying or confiscatory "convenience" charges) for this transaction.
I did it for those in my household in advance of a couple visits into Boston, and the cards arrived promptly after the order was placed on the website.
But that doesn't help suburban commuter-rail passholders
since their passes are available only on CharlieTickets. Even I in urban West Somervile have to buy a Zone 1A CharlieTicket pass ($59) instead of a CharlieCard LinkPass (also $59), because I sometimes want to ride the commuter train between North Station and Porter Square.
Bring us the CharlieCard!
Does anyone know when they are going to roll out the CharlieCard for the commuter rail?
April or May of 2007
April or May of 2007
(Looks at watch)
Uh, right, so when they finish the Big Dig, huh?...
Moving Target
Here's what the website says now - they don't even put a month since it is much easier to just change the year when it gets silly:
Looks like another year of glaring bus drivers if I want to be able to use my pass on commuter rail and the harbor ferry!
No one knows
No one knows, not even the MBTA.