Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Sunny afternoon on the Green Line

My return trip on the Green Line went much smoother than my very slow ride down to the courthouse this morning. Trolleys were running behind schedule and packed trolleys were taunting us as they chugged on by the platform. By the time we reached Park Park Street, my ankle was killing me. At Park Street we were informed that the trolley had a problem and we'd all have to exit. Another train going to Government Center finally came, and I made it to jury duty in the nick of time.
At least I didn't have to pay for it. There was no one to collect my fare when I entered at the middle door of he car.

But they way home was a much more pleasant experience. Well, as pleasant as one can have on the T.
Our driver stopped and opened the door for someone who almost missed the train. She waited until a family had settled in with their stroller and several small children after they almost went flying across the aisle. After calling a middle aged couple up to the front to pay (I think this was around Fenway), she was gracious about their mistake upon learning that they were from Western Mass.


3 comments:

Bill T said...

Ummmmmm..... when it comes to "I didn't have to pay for it" are you talking about when you were on the Green Line downtown?

The Green Line becomes like the rest of the subway after Kenmore Square (or Symphony) inbound. You can transfer between all (or most) lines or directions without paying again at Park Street (red/green), Government Center (green/blue), Downtown Crossing (red/orange), and... um... State (blue/orange).

As far as I know the Green Line has been this way since I came to college in Boston in 1997. Do you not ride the Green Line downtown that much? (Sorry. I'm a transit geek.)

(Then again, do you have to pay if you're getting on the Green Line outbound after Kenmore? say, if you're getting on at BU?)

Lyss said...

There are these (relatively) new rules on the Green Line about entering through any door (at the above ground stations), after which, a T employee is supposed to come around and electronically 'take' your fare with a little machine.

I don't take the T as often as I did before I hurt my ankle (I do less walking in general), but when I do it tends to be on the Orange or Green lines, with transfers as needed.

check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CharlieCard#CharlieCard_on_the_Green_Line
and
http://charlieonthembta.blogspot.com/2007/01/t-revises-green-line-boarding-policy.html

Bill T said...

Ohhhhhhhh. I'm sorry. That's WEIRD. That's like a conductor coming down the aisle on a commuter rail or Amtrak to punch your ticket. With the horror stories of T employees not accepting this "show-n-go" deal any more, as reported on Charlie on the MBTA... it sounds like more trouble than it's worth.