T board member says automated fare collection is a 'mess'

He looks happy, but does Charlie have a fatal flaw?

By Christopher Baxter, Globe Correspondent

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board member today criticized Daniel A. Grabauskas, the authority's general manager, saying she'd lost confidence in him after claims by three MIT students that they've found security flaws in the MBTA's automated fare collection system.

Board member Janice Loux distributed a report by the students that purported to detail the vulnerabilities of the CharlieTicket and CharlieCard passes, calling it the latest example of "a systemwide failure" to properly implement and oversee the system.

"Whatever the reality of the reports, the automated system is a mess," she said, calling for an external audit of the program. "I've lost all confidence in our general manager."

Grabauskas said Monday that claims about security flaws in the system have, in the past, either been unfounded or dealt with.

He said at today's board meeting that both internal audits and federal reviews regularly monitor the program's performance.

He said federal officials "have not raised any concerns. They have been highly complimentary of the program, and they are pleased with how it's proceeded."

The MBTA will head back to federal court Thursday for a hearing on the court order it received against MIT and students Zack Anderson, R.J. Ryan, and Alessandro Chiesa. A judge granted the MBTA a temporary order Saturday blocking the trio from publicly discussing how to hack the cards and ride the T for free.

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