Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Adam - at the MBTA public meeting about fare hikes last year (I attended the one in Cambridge) they specifically mentioned that FREE CharlieCards were only going to be distributed for a limited time (how limited they didn't say, I don't think) and after that people would have to pay to get a CharlieCard...$3 per card, IIRC.

I don't remember the exact wording, but it was very clear that CharlieCARDS are being marketed towards regular commuters. They're not for tourists or one-time users...that's what CharlieTICKETS are for.

It's easier if you think of it as the Tickets being the same as tokens, and the Cards being the the same as the old T-Pass. Tourists rarely bought T-passes, just tokens, even though it didn't take many rides before the T-Pass was a better deal.

Of course, under the old system, you didn't have the savings as immediate, nor trumpeted in your face quite so much. But rubbing your nose in it is just par for the course with the T.

Shrinking from the mountain of failures that is Iraq need not tilt anyone in any direction other than realistic. Iraq is the greatest fiasco of American foreign policy - ever.

However, it is much easier for tourists to buy T passes than it was before Charlie. Every fare vending machine sells them, 7 days for $15. It's a great deal, but the T hasn't done anything to promote it.