Stupid MBTA
Jan. 16th, 2008 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dsrtaoA few days ago I misplaced my CharlieCard. When it didn't show up in the usual places or the laundry, I sighed and went to the MBTA web site to figure out my options.
When the CharlieCard was introduced, one of the much touted features was the ability to register a card so that in the event of loss or theft it could be replaced. That feature has never actually been implemented.
I counted up days on the calendar. With 12 commuting days left in the month, itwas cheaper to buy a new LinkPass than to pay individual fares. When I got to Alewife this morning, I discovered that January LinkPasses are no
longer being sold, only February. These are electronic machines encoding numbers on a (dumb) smart card. Why can't they sell me a pass for the current month? Bozos.
So I put cash on my spare CharlieCard (and how do I get another one, anyway? Mine was handed out at a T stop.) More cash than I originally paid for this month's pass, I might add. And if I did not have a spare CharlieCard, I would need to put even more money on a CharlieTicket.
It used to be that monthly passes were plastic-coated paper cards with magstrips at the bottom. You could punch a hole in one and hang it off a convenient keyring or lanyard. With the CharlieCard, one is specifically enjoined from doing so, lest the RFID antenna be disrupted. Nor does the MBTA helpfully provide a hole.
As long as I'm complaining about the MBTA, let me add that the 70A bus service is usually good (although it could stand to be run more frequently in the evenings; the bus is generally full to bursting from 4:40 through 6:10 PM weekdays). However, some small subset of drivers believes that the run inbound from northern Waltham does not involve a loop which adds 10 minutes to the trip time. Theoretically the bus stops on Lexington Street near Totten Pond Road at 8:16; in practice this is anywhere from 8:10 to 8:30, with a strong tendency to be 8:12-8:15. When the loop is skipped, the bus passes Totten Pond Road at 8:02 or earlier. This is highly aggravating, especially when it happens on a day with a wind chill of -10F.
When the CharlieCard was introduced, one of the much touted features was the ability to register a card so that in the event of loss or theft it could be replaced. That feature has never actually been implemented.
I counted up days on the calendar. With 12 commuting days left in the month, itwas cheaper to buy a new LinkPass than to pay individual fares. When I got to Alewife this morning, I discovered that January LinkPasses are no
longer being sold, only February. These are electronic machines encoding numbers on a (dumb) smart card. Why can't they sell me a pass for the current month? Bozos.
So I put cash on my spare CharlieCard (and how do I get another one, anyway? Mine was handed out at a T stop.) More cash than I originally paid for this month's pass, I might add. And if I did not have a spare CharlieCard, I would need to put even more money on a CharlieTicket.
It used to be that monthly passes were plastic-coated paper cards with magstrips at the bottom. You could punch a hole in one and hang it off a convenient keyring or lanyard. With the CharlieCard, one is specifically enjoined from doing so, lest the RFID antenna be disrupted. Nor does the MBTA helpfully provide a hole.
As long as I'm complaining about the MBTA, let me add that the 70A bus service is usually good (although it could stand to be run more frequently in the evenings; the bus is generally full to bursting from 4:40 through 6:10 PM weekdays). However, some small subset of drivers believes that the run inbound from northern Waltham does not involve a loop which adds 10 minutes to the trip time. Theoretically the bus stops on Lexington Street near Totten Pond Road at 8:16; in practice this is anywhere from 8:10 to 8:30, with a strong tendency to be 8:12-8:15. When the loop is skipped, the bus passes Totten Pond Road at 8:02 or earlier. This is highly aggravating, especially when it happens on a day with a wind chill of -10F.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-16 02:37 pm (UTC)Email the T to complain about your bus drivers. I don't know that they actual *do* anything, but they do respond personally to complaints.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-16 02:56 pm (UTC)I called the T to complain about the bus, on the day it happened. Lousy customer service. I was promised a phone call back from an inspector. That has not happened yet.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-16 03:43 pm (UTC)I received a long, earnest response to an email when I complained about egregious driver behavior.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-17 10:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-17 05:35 am (UTC)I keep my card in my wallet now and tap my wallet. Works fine.
I have often thought that one could make good money selling little condoms to slip over CharlieCards which have a lanyard hole. Perhaps have them say GO SOX so they sell better.
Windchill = suck.