CharlieCard
 |
|
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Launched | December 4, 2006 |
| Technology | |
| Manager | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |
| Currency | USD |
| Validity |
|
| Retailed |
|
| Variants |
|
| Website | Official website |
The CharlieCard is a MIFARE-based, contactless, stored value smart card used for electronic ticketing as part of the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system installed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) at its stations and on its vehicles. The CharlieCard was made available to the general public beginning December 4, 2006. The last metal token was sold on December 6, 2006, at Government Center station.
The CharlieCard is named after a fictional character in a folk music song often called "Charlie on the MTA", which concerns a man trapped forever on the Boston subway system (then known as the Metropolitan Transit Authority, or MTA) because he cannot pay the 5-cent surcharge required to leave the train. Since the card's introduction, the Charlie character has been used on a variety of MBTA signs, including construction and directional signage.
The CharlieCard is named after the title character in the 1948 protest folk music song, "Charlie on the MTA". The song was written to protest a fare increase in the form of an extra five cent exit fare for longer rides and was later made popular by the Kingston Trio in 1959.
One of the rejected names for the farecard system was "The Fare Cod", a pun on both the way locals might pronounce "Card" and the fish that was once integral to the Massachusetts economy, and also a reference to other transit cards named for ocean animals, such as London's Oyster and Hong Kong's Octopus. Another rejected name was T Go card with the T being the symbol for the MBTA.
The CharlieCard can store value (keep a cash balance) and hold a combination of time-based passes which allow unlimited rides during a set period of time. Passengers use the plastic CharlieCard by tapping it against a target on a gate or a vehicle farebox. If left in a wallet, the card can usually be read when the wallet is placed on the reader. The gate or farebox then either automatically debits the cost of the passenger's ride, or verifies that the card has a valid transfer or that the card has a pass that is valid for travel at the given time and location. Transit riders can add value or a monthly pass to their cards at machines located at MBTA stations and vehicles, MBTA ticket offices, retail sales terminals at select outlets and online.
...
Wikipedia