The Boston Traveler

Last Saturday in the post “Happy Birthday, Charlie!,” I wrote about the first birthday of Boston’s CharlieCard transit payment system. The innovative “smart card” contains an electronic chip that allows passengers to preload money and then tap their payment when boarding public transportation instead of swiping or inserting it. If a passenger has mastered the tapping routine, the newer process can speed boarding times substantially (and if they haven’t, settle in for a brain-numbing wait while they and their ten — it’s always ten, minimum — clueless companions each attempt to learn on the fly).
Anyway… While …read more

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On Tuesday, December 4, the latest fare collection method of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (better known as simply the MBTA) turned one year old. Bay State residents call the electronic “smart card” that supplanted the former T-pass and token system the CharlieCard, or just plain Charlie for short.
Charlie’s a handy little hard-plastic guy, very much like a credit card in appearance, that allows you to do all sorts of wonderful things, such as ride public transportation for less money with the significant fare discount allotted to purchasers.
There’s also a paper-based, swipeable CharlieTicket, which is dispensed at vending machines …read more

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