How the CharlieTicket works

Here's a look at how the new MBTA collection system will work.

Where:

The new collection equipment was introduced on the Silver and Blue Lines and will soon be throughout the subway system, buses, and trackless trolleys.

What:

This service includes CharlieTickets, fare vending machines and fareboxes. This system-wide service will lead to the elimination of tokens and the replacement of antiquated turnstiles.

The CharlieTicket is a magnetically encoded ticket that will contain either stored value or a T pass. A stored value CharlieTicket will have your fare deducted from it each time you ride the T, allowing you to pay as you go on the subway and bus. A CharlieTicket encoded with a pass will function the way your passes do today.

When:

MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas announced that nearly the entire transit network would switch to CharlieTickets, its new automated fare system, by the end of next year.

How:

Passengers using the CharlieTicket will approach the gate and insert the ticket or monthly pass. The ticket will be read and then ejected. Passengers take their card or ticket back and walk through the open gate.

Why:

T officials tout the benefits of the CharlieTicket. They say it will speed service, make the system more accessible, and give riders the ability to transfer from bus to subway without buying another ticket.

The T is under pressure to generate revenue and increase ridership, and T officials say the new system will allow them to more carefully track ridership and revenue while cracking down on passengers evading fares.

(Source: Information for this report was taken from the MBTA's website and Globe reports.)