CharlieCard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events. It may contain information of a tentative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available. |
The CharlieCard is a contactless, stored value smart card used for electronic ticketing as part of the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system being installed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) at its stations and on its vehicles.[1] The CharlieCard is expected to be made available to the general public on December 4, 2006. [2]
Contents |
[edit] CharlieCard and CharlieTicket details
The CharlieCard can both store value (keep a cash balance) and hold a combination of time-based passes which allow unlimited rides on designated modes of transportation during a set period of time. Passengers use the RFID-based CharlieCard by placing it near a target on a gate or a vehicle farebox. The gate or farebox then either automatically debits the cost of the passenger's ride card, verifies that the card has a valid transfer from another mode of transportation or verifies that the card is valid for travel at that time at that particular location. The MBTA says that transit riders will be able to add value to their cards at machines located at MBTA stations and vehicles, MBTA ticket offices and on-line. Under current plans, CharlieCards will only work on the MBTA's subway and bus services, on the MBTA commuter rail in mid 2007, but not The Ride, or ferry boats. CharlieCards are already available to senior citizens (65+) and to persons with disabilities who are eligible for the Massachusetts Transportation Access Pass (TAP) ID or Blind ID card.
The automated fare collection equipment is also compatible with the MBTA's new CharlieTicket, a paper card with a magnetic stripe that operates as a stored value card or time-period (monthly, weekly, 1/3/7 day visitor) pass. The MBTA first implemented the stored-value CharlieTicket on the Silver Line in February of 2005.
As of November 13, 2006, at least 85 percent of the subway system and all bus routes have been converted to the new technology. The MBTA expects to have all subway and bus lines converted the end of 2006, with Green Line and Mattapan trolley conversion underway. Commuter Rail and Commuter Boat should join the automated fare system in mid-2007. (see "Automated Fare Collection installation information" below). Time-based CharlieTickets and the senior citizen/TAP CharlieCards, all of which have text that MBTA personnel can manually verify, can be used throughout the MBTA system. Commuter rail and ferry monthly passes are being printed on CharlieTickets.
CharlieCards can be reloaded and CharlieTickets can be purchased and reloaded at Fare Vending Machines (FVMs) in converted stations and elsewhere in the system. All FVMs accept credit and debit cards, while some also accept cash and coins, including MBTA tokens. The AFC fareboxes on buses and light rail trains accept CharlieCards, CharlieTickets, cash, coins, and MBTA tokens and allow patrons to reload their CharlieCards.
The MBTA plans to encourage the use of the CharlieCard by imposing a surchrage on CharlieTicket use, beginning with its scheduled fare increase in January, 2007. For example, under the new fare structure a subway or trolley ride will cost $1.70 with a CharlieCard but $2.00 with a CharlieTicket or cash. Similar surcharges are also planned for the buses, Commuter Rail, The RIDE, and Harbor Ferries.[3] [4] The MBTA also plans to provide the cards themselves free of charge initially.
Other transit systems employing technology similar to that used in the CharlieCard include Washington D.C, Chicago, Hong Kong (the Octopus Card), Seoul, Singapore and London (the Oyster Card).
[edit] Effect on transit employees
Existing token collectors will be retrained as Customer Service Agents (CSAs), who will provide guidance in the stations.
They will work outside the existing token booths, which will be used to house computer servers and other equipment needed for the automated fare collection system. The MBTA also plans "Hub Stations" within six existing subway stations. These glass-walled control rooms will house personnel monitoring various signal and alarm systems, including Closed-circuit television. Personnel in the Hub Stations will be able to direct customer service agents to customers, and will interact with customers via call boxes located throughout the system. To support the added technology, the MBTA is connecting all subway stations in a fiber optic loop digital network, largely using its own right of way.
[edit] Automated Fare Collection installation information
Automated Fare Collection equipment has been installed and enabled in most subway stations. The equipment is scheduled to be installed soon at the following locations. An asterisk(*) indicates stations where Charlie-related construction is known to be currently underway:
- Red Line: Charles, Fields Corner, *Ashmont
- Orange Line: All stations have now been converted
- Blue Line: Bowdoin, Government Center, Maverick
- Silver Line Waterfront: All stations have been converted, and the Logan Terminals have FVMs[2]
- Green Line: Government Center, *Arlington (Nov. 22), *Copley, Kenmore, Science Park (FVMs only, no gates), Fareboxes on trolleys (late November)
On November 22, 2006, the current entrance to Arlington station will close for extensive construction. It will not reopen until March 1, 2008. While it is closed, all access to Arlington station will be through the now-closed Berkeley Street entrance, which already has Charlie equipment installed.
The installation of Fare Vending Machines at stops on the Green Line "D" Branch is ongoing. There are no plans to install Fare Vending Machines at other Green Line and Silver Line surface stops. Instead, the MBTA plans to install fare card sales terminals inside retail stores at other heavily trafficked locations in the system, including along busy bus routes and near selected Green Line and Silver Line stops. [5]
CharlieCard fare collection boxes have been installed on all vehicles on the Silver Line (both segments), and on all buses.
The installation information is developed from MBTA materials[6] and other sources.[7] Accuracy is not guaranteed.
[edit] The name
The CharlieCard is named after a fictional character in a protest folk music song, Charlie on the MTA. The song was written in 1948 to protest a fare increase in the form of an extra five cent exit fare for longer rides and was later made popular by the Kingston Trio. Ironically, the Charlie Card will make future fare increases and higher rates for longer rides easier to implement.
One of the rejected names for the farecard system was "The Fare Cod", a pun on both the way locals might pronounce "Card" and the fish that was once integral to the Massachusetts economy, and also a reference to other transit cards named for ocean animals, such as London's Oyster and Hong Kong's Octopus. Another rejected name was T'Go card with the T being the 
symbol for the MBTA. Publications such as the Weekly Dig applauded the MBTA for choosing the name "CharlieCard" over the unimaginative alternatives.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. T Projects -> Automated Fare Collection. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
- ^ a b Daniel, Mac. "Starts and Stops -- Sign of winter: plow drivers sought", Boston Globe, 2006-11-12, p. B2. Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
- ^ Shartin, Emily. "Winners, losers in new T fares", Boston Globe, 2006-07-06. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
- ^ Daniel, Mac. "T will proceed with fare increases", Boston Globe, 2006-10-07, p. A1. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ Boston.com. Chat transcript with MBTA General manager Daniel Grabausakas. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. What stations have the new fare collection equipment?-. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
- ^ Daniel, Mac. "T seeks to buy $5.7m in parts for new fare system", Boston Globe, 2006-08-09. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
- ^ Dig Staff. "Forever, 'Neath the Streets of Boston", The Weekly Dig. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
[edit] External links
- MBTA Automated Fare Collection
- CharlieTicket upgraded stations/vehicles
- 2007 Fare Increase Information
