Dave Copeland has a CharlieTicket with $1.50 left on it:

... Is there a way to use that $1.50, or does the T permanently "hold" it for me? I'm almost certain I can't add 50 cents to the card to get it to an even $2 to cover a ride. Or can I? It's not really a big deal to me, but when you think of the thousands of riders like me stuck in Charlie Ticket limbo, that adds up to a nice chunk of change to say, plug a budget hole. ...

Funny you should ask, Dave. Charlie on the MBTA was pondering that same exact question:

... As CharlieTickets are used they drop below the $1.50(bus) or $2(subway) level and value is needed to be added. Riders being told about the CharlieCard are then adding new value to the smartcard and simply discarding CharlieTickets with small amounts of unused value on them. Those nickle, dimes and quarters add up fast and the T is pocketing the money.

Was this by design or simply an oversight? Only 10 Park Plaza knows the answer to that. ...

Ron Newman went around Central and Davis stations tonight picking up CharlieTickets people had thrown out:

Four of the six tickets I tried still had value ... So the next time you see discarded $5 tickets and a Charlie vending machine with no line, try putting the tickets into the machine. You may be surprised what you get.

T officials report no complaints whatsoever about CharlieCards failing after just four days, so therefore, it hasn't happened. Plus, anybody who's had problems with a CharlieCard, well, let's just say your trolley doesn't go to the last stop.

Read Mac Daniel's CharlieCard column and let me know if I'm summarizing it correctly. Especially if you are one of the people whose CharlieCards didn't actually stop working on Thursday since you just imagined it. So no point writing to teamcharlie@mbta.com.

BadTransit takes a more dyspeptic view

Charlie on the MBTA reports on a fun interlude today on bus 2137 on the 66 route involving some poor woman who'd been told she could recharge her CharlieCard on the bus:

... The driver flat out refused to let her do it saying "Not on my bus lady, I can't be bothered." This was not a rush hour situation as there were perhaps 8 people on the bus and no one was waiting to board. ...

Spatch breaks the news about a new MBTA system dubbed CharlieDiscs:

... In an innovative twist on the traditional pass system, each metallic CharlieDisc, roughly three-quarters of an inch in diameter, represents the fare equivalent of one subway ride. Customers will be able to purchase these discs individually or in groups from machines placed in each MBTA station and then exchange that disc for access to the train platforms. To add value, customers simply purchase more discs. ...

Plumtreeblossom reports:

... The readers on every gate said "Not Enough Value" though I paid $59 for this damn thing two days ago. It worked until this morning.

Charlie on the MBTA writes that after just four days of use, his CharlieCard died:

... Neither the faregates at Harvard Square or the vending machines could read the chip. The (customer service agents) tried to solve the problem but alas I was told to go to the new CharlieCard Service Center located in the concourse at Downtown Crossing (located on the Red, Orange and Silver Lines) When I got there I wasn't alone and it took about 25 minutes to see a clerk. ...

Put one in your back pocket and you can open a Charlie gate with your butt.

Feel free to post yours!

Gary McGath reports from Cambridge: Porter Square was a disaster, but Harvard Square seemed OK.

Single Girl in the City reports:

I just got an email from our HR department stating that our T-passes for the month of January haven't been delivered. Apparently, this is a "statewide" issue, which I take to mean all state offices are lacking their T-passes for January... we were informed that "there's a chance" the passes will be delivered tomorrow. ...

Santa was down at Fields Corner this morning handing out CharlieCards with money on them to celebrate the re-opening of the station there:

... Mine had $10, others got $2.50 or $5, and some probably had even more stored value. I also heard that a few of the gift CharlieCards had a LinkPass on them. ...