Friday, December 29, 2006

Faster, Easier Boarding Now Arriving on the Green Line

Riders on the Green Line will experience many changes come January 1st. Mac Daniel writes about the changes in the Friday (12-29) Globe. The biggest change (and shock to many) will be the elimination of free fares westbound outside the subway. Nobody at the T seems to recall how the free fares came about in the first place. One person I talked to thinks it goes back to when service was temporarily suspended (never to return) on the A Watertown Line in 1969.

To speed up boarding the T will expand Show-n-Go into a full POP (Proof of Payment) system similar to the San Francisco Muni trolley system. On Friday the T was passing out flyers on the Green Line that say the following


Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Driven by Customer Service
Easier Boarding Now Arriving on the Green Line

Starting January 1,2007, no matter where you get on the Green Line, you'll enjoy a more convenient and shorter boarding experience.

We've enhanced the current Show-n-Go program to include all of our surface stops -so now even more customers can enter at either the middle or the rear of the car to speed-up boarding. Where you board depends on how you pay!

Here's how it works:
If you pay with cash, board at the front door and you will be issued a receipt by the operator that will serve as your proof of payment.

If you have a pass (weekly, monthly, or visitor), you may enter at any door. T officials will be using handheld validators to verify that passes are valid. You may be asked to verify that your pass is valid at the farebox once you are on the vehicle.

If you use a stored value CharlieCard or CharlieTicket, you must either use the farebox at the front door, or have your fare deducted by an Official with a hand-held validator.

Time-saving tip! On the D Line we have platform validators. Stop beforehand, tap your CharlieCard or insert your CharlieTicket to receive a receipt, which will serve as your proof of payment.

Please remember to keep your CharlieTicket,
whether you board in the subway or on the surface level, until you reach your destination. You may be asked to produce proof of payment.

Additional Information:
T officials will make random, unannounced checks to ensure that each customer pays his or her fare. If you do not have a valid fare, you may be cited by the MBTA Transit Police.

For your convenience, many more retailers in your immediate area will soon be selling passes and fares to help streamline service along the Green Line.

Thank you for taking the T.

For more information, visit mbta.com or call (617) 222-3200, TTY (617) 222-5146.

5 comments:

Benjamin Ostrander said...

Faster and more convenient? Did they really mean less convenient (since you now need to pay) and slower? I have absolutely no hope for my commute on the D Green Line. I fully expect my rush hour outbound trains to take 15 min longer and be more crowded.

Fenway said...

Benjamin Ostrander said...
Faster and more convenient? Did they really mean less convenient (since you now need to pay) and slower? I have absolutely no hope for my commute on the D Green Line. I fully expect my rush hour outbound trains to take 15 min longer and be more crowded.


I saw an old Riverside schedule up at the Trolley Museum in Maine from when the line opened in 1959. Riverside to Park Street in 32 minutes. No matter how they try to spin this it will have to take longer going outbound if people paying cash have to board in front.

Yes they have these new sheds with the vending machines which I am sure will become motels for the homeless unless the T Transit Police is going to lock them every night but will riders actually use them? They have been sitting locked now for over a month and they appear to be ready. Open them up so we can can used to using them.

Tuesday is going to be a disaster I am afraid, leave extra time.

Benjamin Ostrander said...

32 min! That is incredible! I can barely get from Resevoir to Park Street in 32 min. Fortunately, I don't have to work on Tuesday but Wednesday is certainly going to be interesting. I have lost my patience waiting for people to board from the front at stops at all days and times during the week but I might go insane waiting for that outbound as well.

Also, are they going to have a total of 3 T employees on every train outbound now? Unless they cover each door that can open in every train this hand-held validator is never going to work.

I still say they should have enclosed each stop on the D Line so that it would basically function as an underground stop.

Fenway said...

I suspect that these new fare inspectors are former sellers of tokens in the stations.

Bostonians are loathe to change and we tend to bitch about everything. Yes there is a fare increase but for many of us the monthly fare went down. However for some reason the Monthly bus/subway combo for seniors and disabled went up ( and they are the people who can least afford it )

This new system will take awhile to get use to and hopefully there won't be too many bugs.

Anonymous said...

This morning on the B line, the driver's instructions were "passengers entering via the rear doors, come to the front to pay your fare." So while all the doors opened at every stop (a nice change indeed for someone like myself who has to get off above-ground on that line), there was also a stream of people going in both directions (to and from the front) and a run of 4 trains in a row due to delays.

And this was without the schools back in session!