The following announcement was provided by the MBTA and MassDOT:
Three virtual public meetings are being held this month regarding the MBTA’s Fare Transformation program and upgrades to its sales network.
In the future, riders will be able to purchase MBTA fares and passes online, via their smartphones, and with contactless credit/debit cards. Though customers will no longer be able to use cash to pay onboard vehicles once the new fare collection system is implemented by 2023, the MBTA is currently introducing more places to load cash onto CharlieCards than were previously available. Aimed at serving cash-dependent riders, this expansion will result in a larger, more robust, and more diverse sales network of retailers, in-station fare vending machines, and new streetscape fare vending machines at bus stops, Commuter Rail, Green Line, and Mattapan Line stations across the network. The public is encouraged to view this interactive map of the proposed sales network or use the T’s sales location finder.
The Fare Transformation team now requests the help and input of the public on the recently completed Point of Sale Distribution and Equity Analysis, which identifies where new sales locations should be added. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in the following virtual public meetings to hear more about the methodology for determining proposed locations and to share feedback that helps the T make sure the network being created works for everyone:
- Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at 6 PM – Register here.
- Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 6 PM – Register here.
- Tuesday, March 30, at 6 PM – Register here.
For help registering for these virtual public meetings, please call the MBTA Community Engagement team at 617-448-4374.
Any questions can be emailed to publicengagement@mbta.com. Members of the public are also encouraged to provide feedback to the Fare Transformation team online by visiting the Sales Network Public Input Survey. Local community-based organizations are also encouraged to email the MBTA’s Community Engagement team at publicengagement@mbta.com to schedule supplemental community meetings with the MBTA to learn more about Fare Transformation and the Point of Sale Distribution and Equity Analysis. The public can learn more about getting involved by visiting Fare Transformation information online.
Accommodations
These meetings are accessible to people with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency. Accessibility accommodations and language services will be provided free of charge, upon request, as available. Such services include documents in alternate formats, translated materials, assistive listening devices, and interpreters (including American Sign Language).
For accommodation or language assistance, please contact MassDOT’s Chief Diversity and Civil Rights Officer by phone at 857-368-8580, fax at 857-368-0602, TTD/TTY at 857-368-0603, or by email at MASSDOT.CivilRights@dot.state.ma.us.
For more information, visit mbta.com/fares/fare-transformation or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @theMBTA.
Those with an account can already load value online, but you have to be able to tap your card to have access to the value. You can’t do it on buses. You have to go to a station where you can load value and tap your card. The problem is there are too few of those places.