CharlieCards to pull into T stations

The Age of the CharlieCard starts tomorrow when a small army of MBTA employees begins handing out the free plastic cards throughout the system.

There are too many questions about the new cards to answer here. So here's a quick, inefficient primer that will probably leave you asking for more.

First of all, that thing you've been using for the last several months is NOT a CharlieCard. It's a CharlieTicket. CharlieCards are plastic. CharlieTickets are paper. CharlieTickets have a magnetic strip. CharlieCards do not.

To find out where you can get a new CharlieCard, check out the PowerPoint presentation we uploaded on the Starts & Stops blog last week (boston.com/starts/blog). Dates, stations, and times are listed deep down in the document. There's a lot of information there.

Hold onto your card as you would a credit card. It's predicted to last three to five years.

When the fare hike hits on Jan. 1, these cards will offer the cheapest way to ride the T. They will also be the only way to take advantage of the new free subway-to-bus transfers that are part of the new fare structure. A little known fact, which we have gotten wrong in the past, is that bus-to-subway transfers will cost an extra 45 cents. Note the difference.

When you get your card, it will have no money on it, so head to the nearest MBTA vending machine and load some cash. Remember, you don't insert these cards into a machine. Just "tap" them on the rectangular black "reader" or "target" on the vending machines or fare gates (see item below).

To transfer money to your new card, you have to tap it a second time on the reader after you have fed your cash or credit card into the machines. Just a touch and the money should be there. If you're not sure, tap the card again and have the vending machine tell you its value.

We tried it this week and it's hard to get used to. There's no ka-ching of a register. Just a silent green light.

Commuter-rail riders, boat, express bus, and one- and seven-day pass-holders can't use the card until next year.

Still holding on to a drawerful of tokens? The new vending machines allow you to load them on to a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket. And until the new automated fare collection system is fully installed , it's a good idea to carry some tokens around for the old turnstiles.

Want to transfer your paper CharlieTicket's value to a CharlieCard? You can't. Just use up your CharlieTicket by the end of the month and dispose of it properly.

When you go through a fare gate with the card, its value will also be displayed on the gate's screen as you pass through. Again, nothing on the card will tell you its value.

Eventually, you'll be able to add money to your CharlieCard at several retail outlets or online. It'll be similar to buying a lottery ticket. You can also sign up online and have the card loaded with money from a credit card or bank account. You can register your card starting mid-month. If you register your card and lose it, your money can be replaced. If you don't register because you're worried about privacy, you won't be able to get your money back.

Don't load your life's savings on a CharlieCard. Don't.

How will corporate-pass users get their monthly passes? Your January pass (distributed in December) will be a CharlieCard.

How will it be updated for your next month's pass? It's automatic, T officials say. On the first of the new month, your new pass will be quietly updated and ready when you first use the system. This is also going to take some getting used to.

What if you need to provide your car insurer a receipt showing you're an MBTA pass holder, say, to take advantage of a discount? In some cases, insurers required the actual passes be sent to them. Now, you should be able to print up a detailed list of your passes, which insurance companies and others should honor. If they don't, let us know.

Can a CharlieCard's value be erased by a ringing cellphone or alien beings? Nope, say T officials. The chip inside the card can't be compromised . . .

. . . unless you punch a hole in a CharlieCard. Don't. If you wear your pass on a lanyard and like punching a hole in it every month, stop. The T was handing out these clear plastic CharlieCard pockets on lanyards some time ago, but we haven't seen them in a while. Again, see below.

So take a test drive. Even if you don't use the T or hate the T, check out the new system. If you find something amiss or just have a story to tell about the new cards, please let us know at starts@globe.com.

Three lanes of I-93 south through downtown will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

The Storrow Drive ramp to I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

Exit 20B (Pike west/Albany Street) off I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

Exit 23 (Purchase Street) off I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

The Essex Street ramp to I-93 south will close 7 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. tomorrow to Friday and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

Two lanes of I-93 south through downtown will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

Two lanes of I-93 north through downtown and Charlestown will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Wednesday morning. Three lanes will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday to Saturday morning.

Exit 26 (Storrow Drive) off I-93 north will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

The Haymarket onramp to I-93 north will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

The Sumner Tunnel onramp to I-93 north will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

The Essex Street ramp to I-93 north will close 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

The underpass from Storrow Drive east, and the ramp from Leverett Circle to I-93 north and the Tobin will close 11 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday.

The Atlantic Avenue ramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Wednesday morning.

Exit 27 (Tobin) off I-93 north will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Wednesday morning.

The single lane of the Pike east leading to the Ted Williams Tunnel will close 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning and 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday to next Monday morning.

The Pike west near Logan Airport will close 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.

The Sumner Tunnel ramp to Storrow Drive will close 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday morning. Sumner access to Haymarket stays open.

The Congress Street ramp to I-93 south and Pike west will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Thursday morning.

Route 1A near Logan will close 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow through Friday.

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