Long, long lines waiting for customer service. Wasn't fixing that at the Registry one of Dan Grabauskas's crowning achievements? Any chance he'll ever get around to replicating that on the T?

Also, Mr. G., as long as we have your attention, Lewis Forman has some issues, both in general and with the Blue Line in particular.

Moxilicious posts today's Can You Frickin' Believe It? CharlieCard horror story, this time involving the cold, a WageWorks faux-credit card and recalcitrant CharlieCard machines at Lechmere and Back Bay that kept her from getting a February Linkpass.

Charlie on the MBTA gets some e-mail from one of the T's "ambassadors" about problems with both the machines and the suits at T headquarters who bought them.

Charlie on the MBTA marvels at the courteous, professional driver on the 65 bus out of Kenmore Square who helped a passenger get through what seemed to be his first experience with a CharlieCard reader. All the more pity that at the end, the fare box ate the guy's $5 bill without recording it onto his card.

Tape watches as some guy follows the add-value instructions on the CharlieCard machine - by tapping his card repeatedly against the screen, displaying a picture of a card - instead of against the actual sensor a couple feed to the right of the screen.

So much going on on our humble public-transit system these days. Here's a round-up of the latest:

File this under: Can't let the terrorists know how many stars are on our flag: When JS pulls out a Polaroid (Yes, a Polaroid) to take a photo of an American flag under glass at the Airport stop on the Blue Line, a T employee immediately orders her to cease and desist:

"I can't take a picture of that flag?" I asked him, hoping he would recognize the absurdity of the situation — our flag is a widely publicized icon, is in no way sensitive information, and was on a wall that thousands of people walk past every day.

"Not since 9/11 you can't," he said. "Security."

Tape forces us to consider the possibility that the T asks prospective bus drivers if they enjoy kicking puppies - and only hires the ones who answer yes. Also, the fareboxes on buses these days suck.

Even with the fare increases, the T is still spending too much money (then again, it is a complex system).

Maybe that explains why that explains why the T is devoting so much energy to catching fare evaders (the ones the new Charlie gates were supposed to stop, remember?), although they might wind up spending more than they make (here's another argument against the crackdown). Also, where does some know-it-all like Michael Widmer get off trying to balance the T's budget on the backs of T retirees?

Mac Daniel reports in the Globe:

The cash-strapped MBTA lost more than an hour of fares on numerous bus routes yesterday morning when dozens of new automated-fare boxes failed on their first true Boston winter day. ...

This is brilliant. How long before someone starts producing them commercially?

Charlie on the MBTA swears he isn't making up the problems he's having. He also posts e-mail from a rider of the 101 bus:

... This morning I boarded the bus for my commute. I am one of those commuters who still pays cash for my rides using a dollar bill and a couple quarters. The driver waved me on without paying and told me the fare box was frozen due to the cold weather. It was obvious the whole device was incapacitated and not powered on. ...

At the bottom of Mac Daniel's latest paean to the CharlieCard (but just before he acknowledges there might be one tiny small problem with them), he writes:

We also checked out reports that folks were throwing away CharlieTickets that still had value on them. We're not saying it's not true, but after donning latex-free rubber gloves, we rummaged in the trash and found 20 CharlieTickets. After running each one through the machine and checking their values, not one cent was found.

Oh, no! He's not doubting The Newman there, is he? Yes, he is! He's doubting The Newman! Word to the wise, pal: DON'T DOUBT THE NEWMAN!

Speaking of CharlieCards, Rcolonna tries one out and likes it.