prog: (Default)
[personal profile] prog
I found a blog about the T: http://www.badtransit.com/ I have been learning a lot about the whole Charlie business through it. The RFID-bearing Charlie Cards sound cool and I look forward to seeing how they work, but... everything so far as been handled so short-sightedly that I kind of dread it too.

I also imagine I am not the first one to find irony in the fact that this new fare system is named after the tall tale of a man who was so screwed by a crappy mass-transit UI that he could not even figure out how to leave his subway car, and so never saw his home again. I thought the name choice was clever and charming at first but now it just reeks of unfortunate appropriateness.

Date: 2006-09-22 04:19 pm (UTC)
mangosteen: (Default)
From: [personal profile] mangosteen
If I was to choose one overarching thing that really gave me a massive metaphorical wedgie about the whole CharlieCard system, it's that MBTA learned nothing from any other transit system's experience with fare card systems.

To wit, with a card-on-demand system, they could have done away with monthly and weekly passes, and gone to n-day (i.e. 7, 30, etc.) passes instead.

Also, I have no idea why they're adding penalty fares to non-pass holders, but that's a rant for another day.

Date: 2006-09-22 05:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] greenlily.livejournal.com
Okay, badtransit.com is now my timewaster of choice.

Like I need another one.

Re: if you want more T blogs ...

Date: 2006-09-22 06:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] greenlily.livejournal.com
Ooo, thank you. Must...not...read while at work. :)

Date: 2006-09-22 07:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] radtea.livejournal.com

The story of Charlie reminds me of an award-winning computer-controlled parking structure in Winnipeg that screwed up when I was leaving, so I gamed the exit by begging a new entry card off the guy about to drive in, resulting in an off-by-one error in the computer's car count. I'm pretty sure I left it in a state where if there is ever just one car left, it will never be allowed to leave...

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