Charlie's Here! Boston's Smart Card Working Well

As a former resident of Boston, I used to buy tokens to ride the T - the nickname for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's century-old system with the nation's oldest subway tunnel (dedicated by President William McKinley in 1897), a $1.4 billion annual budget and 1.14 million riders a day.

Last week I was in Boston and bought a seven-day pass on a Charlie Ticket. I could have also purchased the same pass on a white plastic card with a photo of Charlie on it - the Charlie Card.

Officially launched on Dec. 4, 2006, the Charlie Card is Boston's smart card. Like our Q Card, whose official roll-out is expected around year end, it has a computer chip embedded in the card. Wave or tap the card on an electronic reader, and it automatically deducts a portion of the stored value from the balance on the card.

I paid $15 for a one-week pass for unlimited rides on the subway, buses or boats. Although I had the paper ticket pass and had to slide it through a slot in which the ticket is read and then pops up again, the process was convenient, quick and easy.

The Charlie Card has been so successful in Boston that eight months after its launch, the T won approval of a $4.2 million contract to purchase 5 million new Charlie Cards due to increased demand.

So far, more than 2 million Charlie Cards have been distributed, and 1.5 million have been tapped or used.

"What we're so proud of is that all this occurred in just over eight months," said Joe Pesaturo, director of communications at the T. "Some other agencies started out by charging for the smart card, and we have never done that. I'd like to credit our marketing and distribution people - they have done an incredible job."

Pesaturo said the T also advertised in The Boston Globe and Boston Herald, as well as the free daily paper distributed at all the T stations.

A media buzz helped. "They really helped us get the word out on the Charlie Card system," said Pesaturo, adding that all the TV stations covered the launch when the general manager handed out free cards at 5 a.m. to train commuters.

In the first month of its launch, the T staff continued to hand out free Charlie Cards to passengers as they walked by. Today, there are more than 200 locations where people can get a Charlie Card.

Here in Houston, we have about 450 retail locations - plus our two RideStores - where you can get a free Q Card.  While the plastic cards themselves are free, commuters do have to add value to the card, just like a debit card.

When we launch the Q Card systemwide, customers will be able to load value on their cards on-line. Boston's Charlie Card does not yet have this feature, but the T says it is working toward this and hopes to have it within a year.

So far in Boston, 60 percent of all trips - and that includes the subway (Green, Red, Orange, Blue and Silver lines), boats and 1,040 buses - are paid for with the Charlie Card.

"We are definitely plugging some leaks where we were losing fares. Those turnstiles - you could go under, around, over them, throw slugs in it. We knew we were losing money with the old system. When you reduce the cash that's changing hands, you're going to reduce the fare leakage, such as fare evasion," said Pesaturo, estimating that fare leakage now ranges from 3 to 5 percent of total revenue.

The T is still working on a feature that allows passengers to register their Charlie Card on-line so that if they lose it, the T can restore value to the card.

Here at METRO, we'll have that function built in once we roll out the card.