new year, new T passes

[snugglekitty]

So, I am excited about the new CharlieCards. For the past few years, I have been buying bus passes, although I have never used the bus enough to make it pay for itself. But, carrying cash is just not something I do. So I love the new system where you can just put in X amount of money and use it for the bus or the subway. I hope that this will give me a better sense of my own patterns.

I am still curious about a few things, though. Like: how much information does the MBTA keep in its system? (I am paying cash for my card, and not registering it, just in case.) How long do you have to transfer from one thing to another? (I spend a LOT of time waiting for the bus. It would suck if the bus-waiting sometimes meant I didn't get the transfer.) Will it let you transfer to ANY bus, or only ones that are going in a different direction from the way you came? (This is my desire for freebies speaking. Can I take the subway to Harvard, for example, and then take the 77 or 96 back to Davis?)

Also, the repeated fare hiking makes me gnash my teeth. Give us new services, for Goddess' sake!

Comments

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

I used my new pass today for the first time. I don't think I will end up taking the bus enough to justify the forced switch to the combo pass and the associated increase in cost, but it will make it more tempting to take the bus since I don't have to find cash or change to do so.