Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Over 200 readers voted: Here’s how they feel about updates to the CharlieCard
“People complain about people taking free rides on the Green Line, and now we are taking away one more way people could pay.”
Next week, the MBTA will be retiring its MyCharlie website, where CharlieCard holders could reload funds to their card.
On the new website, which will launch Nov. 15 at 8 a.m., users will be able to register cards, sign up for automatic payments and request new cards, however they will not be able to add funds to a specific card.
In a press release shared with Boston.com, the MBTA explained that users who added funds online had to tap their card at a station in order to activate the money, meaning that it “was not truly a one-step option.”
Advertisement:
“[P]urchased fares were not able to be accessed at a bus or trolley fare box, for example, requiring customers to make a trip to a rapid transit station,” the MBTA said in the press release. “Even when value was added online, it could only be activated at fare gates or fare vending machines in stations.”
We asked readers how they’re feeling about upcoming changes to the CharlieCard, as well as if they had used the old site to add funds. Of the 216 readers who responded, about 58% said they used the old website. However, many of these readers, such as reader Abbie B. from the South End, said the site was difficult to use.
Did you use the MyCharlie website to reload your CharlieCard?
Yes
58%
No
42%
“Legitimately I’ve tried to use the site to reload my card and couldn’t figure it out … I took an Uber that day to the airport in frustration even though the T would have been easier and obviously cheaper,” she said.
Advertisement:
Other readers who responded brought up that not everyone lives near a full station with a fare machine, such as those who are by above-ground Green Line stations.
“There are no card machines at many Green Line stops. People complain about people taking free rides on the Green Line, and now we are taking away one more way people could pay,” said reader Brendan S. from Medford/Tufts.
Some readers, similarly to the MBTA, pointed out that those who used the website had to tap the card at a station to activate the funds on their CharlieCard, so not much would be changing in that aspect.
Read below to see what readers had to say about the decision to end reloading CharlieCard funds online.
Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
“The whole system could use an update”
“If the intent was to retire an outdated web interface, that’s something I can get behind. The user experience on the site is terrible, and the fact that you have to tap your card at a fare machine to get the money to disburse is insane. But rolling out an updated interface that can’t even accommodate point of sale credit transactions is not a well thought out plan. Unless there is a security vulnerability or some major outdated web component about to break, this roll out should be postponed until parity can be achieved on the new platform. If that is the case, the MBTA should be transparent about that and offer a roadmap for when [they] expect the new site to reach parity with the old.” — Jack M., Brookline
Advertisement:
“Legitimately I’ve tried to use the site to reload my card and couldn’t figure it out … I took an Uber that day to the airport in frustration even though the T would have been easier and obviously cheaper.” — Abbie B., South End
“The website didn’t seem to work too great for me but I still appreciated having it. It could take a while for money you upload to carry over to the card. The whole system could use with an update.” — Brendan, Somerville
“Like one of the people in the article, I didn’t know I could recharge my card online. I am relatively new to the area, so when I started looking into commuting options [and] saw that the Commuter Rail and T had completely different payment and ticketing methods (with the Commuter Rail having online and an app for tickets, and the T not), why would I think that you could recharge the plastic card online? It’s not anything they want you to use. If it was, wouldn’t you think it would be more obviously indicated? I am usually quite observant of ways to make things easier and yet today was the first I learned about this; not online when I was looking at Commuter Rail and T options; not when reading through my workplace’s extensive commuting information; and certainly not while standing in line trying to recharge my card while watching my train leave. Isn’t the Boston area a leader in the tech world? A place where my local Whole Foods is trying out reading my palm for payment? And yet no online payment for CharlieCards? Can’t help but think this is another reason so many people [drive], and avoid the T.” — Kim E., Winchester
Advertisement:
“Knowing and experiencing ups and downs in the MBTA, I can feel the frustration from riders. I’m a student, so I’ve never had to get my own card and add funds to it, but the online site would have been so convenient if I had to, especially since the MBTA keeps its transit app [up to date], so why can’t they keep the old MyCharlie software running? Plus, I just got off the 21 to Forest Hills and I saw two people before the bus departed manually insert money and coins. If that’s annoying, that’ll be expounded when way more people have to do it to add funds to a card. At semi-ancient ticket machines. In the freezing fall and winter. I also tend to be slow because I often take my time to think and double-check, so this would be worse when a bunch of disgruntled cold people want to rush their way to the train or other transit.” — Robin, Dorchester
“It’s a joke. The fact that we even have to use a CharlieCard is bad. If you’ve ever used the tube in London, they have it figured out. Use any credit or debit card. Scan in, scan out and they know how much to charge based on where you entered and exited. It’s simple and works for everyone — locals and tourists alike — without the need for an additional means of payment (i.e. converting to a CharlieCard). Have you ever seen a tourist or someone from out of town try to figure out how to ride the T — why are there any barriers at all?” — Anonymous
“Not everyone lives near a full station”
“They’re making the T less accessible — not everyone lives near a full station! A lot of the above-ground Green line stops don’t have machines.” — Katie, Fenway
Advertisement:
“I think it is a mistake to take away the ability to reload a card online. I live on a bus route, not near a T station, and it is a painful and slow process to reload on the bus, not to mention that many drivers will wait for the person reloading before they pull away from the stop. Traffic is already horrible to sit in and now you are being delayed by someone reloading their card. Even when you get to a station, the machines don’t always work or there are too few machines and a long line, especially during tourist season and when the colleges start in August and September.” — Anonymous, Boston
“Seems like a glaring oversight. You can even sign up for payment but not reload the card? It should be the most basic function of a transit website: to enable payment of services. It’s a ‘so bad, you can only laugh’ Catch-22: the closest fare machine to me is at a Green Line stop that is a 45-minute walk but a connecting bus is 5 minutes from my door, sounds great, but I have no value on my card for the bus fare; oh well I guess I will drive to the station to load my card so I can avoid driving. And we wonder why folks give [up] on public transit.” — J. Z., Newton
“Very dumb move honestly. There are no card machines at many Green Line stops. People complain about people taking free rides on the Green Line, and now we are taking away one more way people could pay. Either let us pay online, or put machines at every stop.” — Brendan S., Medford/Tufts
“It wouldn’t update until scanned in at a subway station”
“This isn’t really going to matter. Yes, you could technically add funds to your card online, but it wouldn’t update until scanned in at a subway station. As a bus rider, this didn’t mean a hill of beans to me. I can’t understand in this day and age why recharging a card online isn’t a given.” — A. R., Woburn
Advertisement:
“You had to visit a fare machine or tap your card at a subway terminal to get it to update. It wasn’t terribly convenient. I stopped using it and ended up just going to Kenmore to add value.” — Jeff B., Watertown
“It was the worst site. I can reload my card but the amount is not added to the card unless I tap it on a subway gate, fare box or machine. It does not take effect if it’s tapped on the bus fare box. I only take the bus. So I’d have to go out of my way to tap it at a subway station each time.” — GC
“I wish that you could use the website to reload cards still, but the old feature sucked anyway, so this isn’t that much of a change. The old instructions on how to reload your card online were unhelpful, and needing to go to specific fare gates to reload the card after adding value to the card kinda made it useless.” — Anonymous, Allston
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address