The Charlie Card is the ONLY way to travel around Boston! Don't bother renting a card because the Charlie Card is so much cheaper and far more convenient. We were here for 5 days and bought the 7 day pass. This got us full access to the trains, buses and ferries for our entire trip. We stayed in an AirBnB close to Cambridge and took the Red Line into the city everyday. From there we also took the Green Line multiple times and the Blue Line to get to the airport. If you don't mind public transportation and walking just a short distance to where you need to go, the Charlie Card is well worth the value and even though we had to buy the 7 day pass for a 5 day visit, we got our money worth and then some. We checked Uber some days and the price of one Uber was the same as the Charlie Card for a week. read more

Charlie Card - Public Transportation Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Why does it appear to be so hard to run a public transportation system? For chrissakes- we have the oldest subway system in the country- we've had more time than anyone else to figure this out- and we suck at it. Big time. And now, the newest disaster. The Charlie Card. In theory I like the idea of tap and go. It seems pretty quick. When normal people use it, it actually is quick. Unfortunately there seem to be more morons than normal people that ride the T these days. But, the card itself is not the biggest beef I have. It's the double-chargin-trying-to-rip-me-off aspect that really ticks me off. The story: Today I get on the silverline like I do every morning. After I tap my card I'm notified I only have 15 cents left. I decide to get off at New England Medical center to add some money to the card than just take the subway into work. Cool beans. So, I tap my card at the little kiosk. I slide my credit card and ask that 10 bucks be put on it. I have to tap my charlie card again to complete the transaction. No go. It won't read my card even after several "tapping" attempts. Alright. It says my transaction has been voided. I try again. This time it takes. Yeah! I have ten bucks! I go to the turnstile/saloon door and tap my card. BZZZZ!! Go see an agent. Screw that- they are about as helpful as a stick up my ass. I try again, and it goes through but it says I only have $8 on my card! WTF! I should have started out with $10.15- minus $1.70 means I have more than $8 left on my card. Now, if I want to squabble over the amount I'm owed I'm pretty sure I have to go the eighth level of hell. I don't think I should have to do that. And, on top of all that- I just checked my checking account. Yep. They are charging me ten bucks twice. God. I love the MBTA. read more

Charlie Card - Charlie. Who looks enitrely too nice to ride the T - Public Transportation Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This is a review for the Charlie Card Store that's described at https://www.mbta.com/fares/charliecard/services: "The CharlieCard Store is conveniently located at Downtown Crossing Station in the underground concourse between the Red and Orange lines." Note that the store is outside the ticketed area. If you're a passenger arriving at the Downtown Crossing Station, you'll see prominent signs directing you to an exit and then on to the store. I showed up at the store with a pretty large stack of old Charlie tickets. My aim was to consolidate everything onto a Charlie card. More precisely (and here comes the full disclosure part of the review), I was aiming for a senior card (yikes!) The Charlie Card Store could well have been like the DMV. It wasn't!! After I explained my mission to the staff member at the entrance, I was given a paper ticket with a number on it. To my happy surprise, that number was called within three or four minutes. I soon found myself being photographed for my permanent (senior) Charlie Card. That card was not produced for me on the spot -- it came in the mail a few weeks later. For immediate use, I was given a temporary senior card that held most of my accumulate ticket value, along with a non-senior Charlie card to hold the rest. I was in and out of the Charlie Store in something like ten minutes. I really appreciated the great service! read more

I was visiting Boston and got a 7 day ticket for the T. After 1 day it wouldn't work. The guy working at the turnstile asked if my phone touched my ticket. How do I know? He then told me I would have to go to the Charlie Card office to get it worked out. So I went to this location. You have to get a number and wait just like the DMV. After standing because there weren't any seats available (apparently I'm not the only one with this problem), my number was called. They asked me when I bought my ticket even though the date was stamped on it. Next they asked for my receipt. I couldn't find it, but after I complained more than they did and showed them the bank transaction on my phone, they accepted it. Then they told me to keep my phone away from my ticket. They said that the phone will demagnetize the ticket. Really? How many people do you think that happens to? Boston, you figured out how to make some cash! Maybe Illinois should try this since they are always looking for good revenue sources that screw the residents. So they were ready to give me another paper ticket and I asked for the Charlie Card. I told them I was visiting and didn't have time for another trip to their office and somehow that worked. Well, it's faster to get through the turnstile if you have the Charlie Card vs. the paper ticket, so after all that bullshit, at least I got through the turnstile faster for the rest of my visit. read more

There is only one way to get around Boston, you have to have a Charlie (no not Charlie's Angels or Charlie's in Charge or Cho Cho Charlie though that ones close) ticket. Why it's called a Charlie ticket... See it all started back when... yeah, your guess is as good as mine. Seriously, Boston's transit system looks crazy but is super easy. Though working the actual machines to get the Charlie tickets IS a little confusing. The El cars seem to have twice the space and are a lot cleaner then ours. If you're lucky enough to ride a mini (not technical term, they look like trolley cars), you'll probably be packed in but nothing us Chicagoans aren't used to. I thought they were a lot of fun. read more

Charlie Card - Public Transportation Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Don't trust the MBTA CharlieCard! I have two CharlieCards that worked fine last year. This spring they suddenly stopped working. I checked with MBTA customer service and was told that the cards had a $0 balance. This was totally untrue. I then checked with another source and confirmed that there was a balance of over $10 but it was expired. This is ridiculous because the cards have "Expiration Date: 6/20/2028" printed on them. How could MBTA let them expire more than 4 years in advance! One of my cards is a Senior CharlieCard and I can renew the card online. MBTA posted that "If you renew current or expired [senior] card, your balance from your old card will be automatically transferred to your new card." However, when I received the new senior card, it had $0.00 transferred into it. So, the CharlieCard issuer has fooled me (the customer) at least three times in a short period of time (card expired 4 years before the printed date; told me the balance was $0; claimed the balance could be transferred when it actually couldn't). The CharlieCard is a transportation debit card. When customers made a deposit into their bank accounts, no bank dares to wipe the money off for no reason. However, the CharlieCard issuer dares to do such illegal things. read more

You don't need Lyft, Uber or a Taxi. You need a Charlie Card to suit your needs. Keep a Charlie Card as your priority ride. The other three mentioned can be a back up plan in case you are out all night. Mel M Yelp 17: 117 read more

I think the Charlie Card, although a bit flimpsy and not exactly the easiest thing to put into the machines, was probably one of the best purchases I made towards the ease and facilitation of my Boston vacation for five days. A mere $15 buys you 7 days of unlimited rides on all of the MBTA run buses and subways. This helped significantly since many of the places we went to were all over Boston. Instead of walking 1 - 2 miles, we can take a convenient train with fewer blocks of walking and catch more hours of museums and places open. It seems very similar to the metro card so the only complaint I had was that my Charlie card was thick paper whereas the Metro card was plastic and much more durable and reloadable. I'd just feel weird reloading a paper card. read more

Must have if commuting in Boston and still saves you money (I think .50 cents a day) compared to just using cash. If new to the city make sure not to purchase this card if taking the commuter rail because it will not work. While I've never done this, I do have friends who have gone on Craigslist and purchased passes at a discounted rate but be careful b/c they're are fakes out there. Just be smart if a #CharlieCard typically $60/month is going for $40 or less something is up. read more

Charlie Card - MBTA Charlie Card - Public Transportation Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This is *review for charlie card* alone. *Not* a review for MBTA or charlie card store. For people who are commuting inside Boston, MBTA is the best way. There are couple of ways to use MBTA. If you are using it just for one or two rides, I would suggest to buy charlie ticket. At every station, you can pay cash and get charlie ticket at The Fare Vending Machine. Each ride using charlie ticket is priced slightly higher compared to charlie card. I will discuss difference between fares later in the review. Another way is to use charlie card. You can use charlie card just by adding cash to it. There are couple of differences between charlie card and charlie ticket. Charlie card can be purchased only at particular train stops or online/ Charlie ticket can be purchased where ever there is a fare vending machine which is generally at every train stop. Charlie card looks similar to credit card/ Charlie ticket is paper ticket but it is reusable similar to charlie card. Each ride using charlie card is priced lower when compared to using charlie ticket. Both charlie card and charlie ticket doesn't need card purchase fare, i.e. all the money added to card/ticket can be used for rides. If you need either weekly or monthly pass, you might have to purchase charlie card at one of the charlie card stores or online. You can get more info regarding charlie card stores @ http://www.mbta.com . Charlie card for adult local bus - $1.60/ Charlie ticket for adult local bus - $2.10. Charlie card for adult rapid transit - $2.10/ Charlie ticket for adult rapid transit - $2.65. Main thing I don't like about charlie card and to give 3 stars instead of 4 stars is, they advertise that these cards could be registered online and reloaded. I bought 2-3 different charlie cards and couldn't get to register them online. I keep getting error message when I try to register it. I am not sure why MBTA management doesn't address this issue when multiple people have similar issue! read more

Charlie Card is awesome for all the reasons Yi-Hwa says but let me add three even better reasons... 1. If you are with friends they let you just pass your card back to them so you can pay for them too - most cities' systems hate on you for trying this. 2. The 'too-slow' gates for the cards make a hilarious 'urrg urgh urgh' sound really loudly when anyone fucks up. It's like the whole MBTA system is laughing and pointing at you. "You twat - you screwed up doing something really simple! hahaha!" I want this noise as my phone ringtone. 3. Charlie in the UK means cocaine. I can only imagine the silly giggles at the irony of cutting-up using the Charlie Card with that guy with a malformed nose on it (too many lines for him?) I guess this isn't a very useful review. read more

I found this to be a very handy item. It definitely made my life easier having an idea of how many times I would be riding this thing and to pay on a single transaction and be set for a few different trips all at once. It was very similar to the San Francisco BART card, however these machines took cash or credit cards, and I dont think I have paid in SF with anything but cash. This card did make life easy as it would deduct at each stop and made life much easier when commuting on the train. The fact that it did what it was supposed to and worked at all of the stations that I went to was wonderful. I wouldnt hesitate to get another one of these next time I am in beantown. I would even hope to take my old one so that I could use it from the airport through to a hotel if it was near one of the stations for the MBTA. I found this to be a great tool. read more

You tap the card, you ride the train. If you can't master this, I'll tap yo face and you can ride the PAIN TRAIN! Srzly though, probably the ONE thing the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority hasn't f*cked up. But knowing them, I'll be disappointed shortly. read more

If you're in Boston, you should definitely consider getting a CharlieCard. I know UberPool/Lyft Line is on the rise and all, but using the transit system to travel around the city is much friendlier on your wallet. Plus, you get the opportunity to accidentally get off the wrong stop and walk around and explore new places! (: Fares are pretty straight-forward with the CharlieCard. Local bus lines are discounted from $2.00 to $1.70 and comes with a free transfer to another local bus OR a $0.55 transfer to a subway line. All you do is tap, then bam! You're on. CharlieCards also come with the option to buy day passes ($12) and 7-day passes (~$22), so purchase according to your stay and itinerary. Note that 7-day passes mean EXACTLY 7 days aka 168 hours. So if you buy the pass on a Monday at 9:54a, then it will expire the following Monday at 9.54a. -- ALSO -- Get the 'Transit' app. It gives you real-time updates of when the buses/subways will arrive ANDDDD it provides a trip planner. As someone new to Boston, this helped me learn the ropes to MBTA fairly quickly. read more

$15 gets you 7 days of unlimited travel on the T. Hello, Washington DC Metro! Did you hear that? $15 on the DC Metro barely gets you a round trip from New Carrolton to Metro Center. Bravo MBTA! read more

For a tourist, $18 for a week of unlimited travel is probably the best bargain in town. A battle with the Charlie Card dispensing machine forced us to make a cash vs. credit purchase, but otherwise the machine was pretty easy to use. Musings about the T.....Some of the trains are REALLY old. The screeching sound of the wheels around some of the corners will indelibly be imprinted in my brain as to what I imagine the sound emitted from the deepest bowels of hell would be like. You will find mysterious puddles of liquids in random spots in the stations and on the trains. The buskers at the various stations suck relative to other cities. But at the end of the day, you will get from point A to point B quickly, safely and inexpensively. read more

What? People are reviewing their CHARLIE CARDS ON HERE!? OK Yelp has officially jumped the shark. Let me tell you about these nail clippers I got a CVS - that's MUCH more interesting!!!! Come ON! Reviewing a public transit pass? I use a charlie card. Yay. I should give them fewer stars for the fact that you CAN steal somebody's code. Nothing is 100% safe with this wireless technology. Not your home network, your email - nothing. They have had their share of fiascos implementing this system. And when people STILL are able to get into the subway without paying - that's a big FAIL right there. read more

The Charlie Card is so much better than the tokens! After fumbling around when I first moved to Boston with those faux currency tokens, this is a welcome change. Those little tokens always got mixed up in my change purse and could be a total in the you-know-what to find, particularly when faced with the pressure of an incoming train. I'm so relieved to be rid of the stress. I'm a sporadic user of the T (only weekends really), so never invested in a monthly pass. I find the machines at the stations easy to use when reloading my Charlie Card. I don't tend to load up the card, as I'd rather not loan the MBTA funds without services rendered. One of the nice benefits of the card is a reduced fare. Now granted it's just 50 cents off bus or train services, but in the world where the MBTA continues to increase fares, every little bit helps. I also like how the turnstiles will tell you how much is left when you scan your card to enter. The worst feeling in the world is having $1.75 left and getting dinged when you try to go through. If you use the T at all, it's worth it to get a Charlie Card. read more

Charlie and I were great friends during my one week long trip in Boston. $15 for a seven day unlimited subway and bus pass??!!! Great deal! Even if are on a 3-4 day trip, you should still get this card, so you don't have to deal with the hassle of refilling the card when you are short on fare. You get your money's worth after 6 uses anyways. However, because I can be lame, I misplaced my Charlie Card twice. I still thought it was a great value despite paying $45 total. The transportation system in Boston was great and had no problem getting around town. If you are visiting, get your Charlie Card and don't drive! Walking and taking the subway is a great way to check out the city of Boston. read more

Unlimited passes are crazy inexpensive when you consider regular fare. Get out your calculators, kids! Let's say you take one round-trip a day on the T (and most Bostonians probably do at least this). With regular fare, this costs $2/each way, so $4/trip, times 30 days in a month. So it's $120/mo and you're restricted to ONLY those trips. Orrrrrrr you could spend $59 on an unlimited pass. (OOOOOOO! AHHHHHHH!) But, oh no, you're only gonna be around for two weeks one month and you don't want to spend all of that money. Surely a weekly pass has a jacked-up price to punish you for not buying a whole month. UH-UH! $15/wk, baby!!! Siiiigh. So nice. (nuzzles Charlie Card) read more

Not having the Charlie Card makes everything so complicated, but having the Charlie Card isn't much better. What i don't understand is why I can't use the paper one on the above ground green lines.... what's the point of getting a freakin card when you have to pay cash?!?!?!?!?! it's not consistent at all. read more

I took the 111 bus from Haymarket to chelsea (and back) for years for my commute to work. Don't know if you've ever stood at the bus platform at Haymarket Station, but it's like a freaking wind tunnel. So for 6 months out of the year you stand there freezing your. . .um. . .nose off waiting for a bus. Especially in the dead of winter when, for some reason, the bus that is supposed to run every 6 minutes during rush hour takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to arrive. Under the old system, they would open the back doors to anyone who had passes and the other 25 people waiting to pile on would just shove their dollar into the slot on the coin collector at the front. Easy and efficient. A 5 minute loading time. Now all 50 people have to load in at the front, and only half of them have the Charlie Card, so you wait for people to put their dollars in. . .and wait. . .and wait. . .Or, better yet, the people who are paying with coins. On the old collectors, you threw all of your coins into the basket and it would count them and you were off. Now you have to feed all 17 dimes in one. . .at. . .a. . .time. It gets very frustrating when all want to do is get in to the warm bus to try to recirculate some of the blood to your extremities. Great system for the people using the tap cards and only taking the subways from the underground stations. Not so great for the buses or the above ground green line T's which suffer the same fate. read more

Why is this even a thing? You don't have to do much math to figure out that $1.70 is less than $2.00 and "leaving something in your wallet and bumping it against a turnstile" is greater than "having a million little flimsy paper slips in every pocket of every garment and bag you own, and also being 15% poorer all the time because you didn't grab a free Charlie Card from a station attendant". In the future, though, it'd be sweet if you could store weekly passes on the Charlie Card as you can with the monthly. I realize there's probably some flaw of logic in asking for such a thing, but hey, it might be worth a shot. read more

I agree with the tenor of the other reviews that the Charlie Cards are a great idea with some execution flaws. One problem I kept having is that I would tap my card and receive an error. Then I'd be the jerk holding up the line waiting for the turnstile to let me take another try with the card. Plus, there were definitely a few occasions on which my card balance went down after an error but the gates did not let me in. Well, I've finally figured it out. The trick to not getting an error is to hold your Charlie Card against the sensor for until it registers. Don't try to tap too quickly! Trying to be fast makes you slow! I think Alanis Morrissette wrote a song about this once. read more

Only one good thing about the card- that you get on buses faster and can store value on it. Everything else- I just want to scream!! Damn. When I went in at Symphony stop today, the card says that I have $2.50 left. So at the next stop when I got off, I decided to add $5, and it updated my card. But then when I used it to get through Arlington, the door buzz twice and wouldn't let me through. I tried a third time, I got through, but it says I have $4 left. WTF!! And why are they waiting 'til Summer 07 to have an online management account of the Charlie Card when they are "debuting" this stupid card now?? Just frustrating. read more

I miss the tokens a bit, cause they were kinda cute, but I'm glad some parts of the T system are being updated. Now if only a couple of the lines would catch up in modern-ness... read more

I love the Charlie Card for the sole fact that it will save me money. As a person who travels with the T 4-5 times a week for school and recreational purposes, it's great to save money on each trip. What I don't like is the fact that if you lose your card, you have to go to Downtown Crossing to get another one. They used to have it at all the stops, if they'd bring that back that would be awesome. And I have elderly parents who occasionally uses the T and it's such a hassle to have to go to Downtown Crossing to get Senior passes. The best part is having gotten rid of those awful tokens... but I still hate how the price of a single ride has skyrocketed and continues to do so every few years. read more

The lady at the front could not be more rude. Truly a miserable person who wouldn't even let me see an attendant after waiting in line for 30 mins saying "no we don't handle that here". read more

Dear Charlie, I Love You, but not your father & mother. I'm sorry that you get a bad wrap because of the on time performance of the T. It is your fault? All you do it take money. Those MIT kids almost beat you and stole your money. And not to mention those crazy people in the North Shore who were selling your soul for free. Charlie - i miss you dearly... Please send your love to Philly and teach them your ways. They use this thing called "tokens?" Thank you for being down with the 21st century. read more

I've been majorly curious about the Charlie Card for a while now since I've been away from Boston the whole time it all started up. Maybe kind of a morbid curiousity, since I feel like I've only heard about how awful and dysfunctional it is, but anyway. Last week, I finally got to try it for myself when I was visiting for break, and actually thought it was pretty neat, using it on the red, green orange and silver lines. Never had a problem with it, in terms of miscalculated totals, adding value, unresponsive tapping, etc. I still think $1.70 is way too much for a city this small, so me being the cheapo I am would still trade Charlie Card in for the old fares. However, (allow me my minute of lameness) my humble estimate overall: CHARLIE CARD. I'D TAP THAT (sorrrrry) read more

My fiancee's name is also Charlie. Fortunately for me, he looks nothing like the little mafia dude on the cards. I've never experienced a single tech issue using my card since I first picked one up a couple years back. It's super convenient: simply whip that puppy out, smack such against the sensor and you're on your way. Refilling via cash or credit/debit is a cinch either in person or online and the 30-cent discount over the paper pass really adds up during my stays. Love it! Also fortunately for me, the Charlie on the card is made of plastic eliminating the fear of violent repercussions for all the smacking. read more

When the refillable card came out, I was so excited to get one. T riding discounts and convenience! GREAT! Then I tried to acquire the card. Every T stop was out of them and the employees were annoyed when you asked for one. (Evidently, I was not the first rider to ask) This lasted for 2 months! In the "Charlie Card Gods" defense, maybe they have since solved their little supply issue. I wouldn't know. I gave up trying. I would still love one, but until I get it, one star! read more

I love Charlie. And he loves me. I know this because he lets me onto any train or bus I want with just a tap of my card. And it's easy to refill the card at most T stations (but definitely not at most of the street level ones). They are hard to find, but I know Tedeschi's stocks them, along with a few other places. It is one of the things that I will miss about Boston when I leave. Not that anything is wrong with the MetroCard, but come on. It's not Charlie. read more

My typical scenario: MBTA ANNOUNCEMENT: "The next Orange Line train to Forrest Hills is now approaching" MY FRIENDS: "We have such great timing!" ME: "Just a sec, I have to put more money on my Charlie Card" MY FRIENDS: "Are you kidding?! We're gonna miss the train." CHARLIE CARD: "Not on my watch, Rachel S." CHARLIE CARD, while still sitting in my wallet, manages to tap, swipe my credit card, and tap again... on its own! ME: "Thanks, Charlie Card!" CHARLIE CARD: "You're welcome!" MBTA ANNOUCEMENT: "The next Orange Line train to Forrest Hills is now arriving" ME and MY FRIENDS: "We did it! We made it on our train!" EVERYONE ON TRAIN: "The Charlie Card is pretty good!" read more

Note: This is a review on the MBTA's adopted mascot of "Charlie" as well as the associated plastic/paper card/system. I hate song "Charlie and the MBTA", by the Kingston Trio. In fact, I hope they suffer in a personalized hell of gates that consist of that annoying MBTA sound going "ANNGH ANNG ANNGH", instead of their "so-bland-its-offensive" pop folk music. I have first hand information that the MBTA wanted to have a "Dancing Charlie" on the website from the people who built it. As if he can't be annoying enough. I hate the fact that Boston has to make everything magical, mystical, and have some cute little story behind it. "Oh no, it's not a transit pass, it's the CHARLIE CARD, because see, these guys wrote a song about a guy who was stuck on..." and then suddenly you get punched in the face. I hate the fact that I have to stare at "Charlie" dressed up in a Red Sox Jacket at Park Street. Charlie is the antithesis of a mascot. He's a graphic design turd who needs to be flushed, thought up by people who use the presets in power point, and heard that you may be able to download music on the internet. Die Charlie, Die. Oh yeah, the card? It's dumb, but what else are they going to do? read more

Byfar the best payment system among the public transportation systems in the United States. It's much easier than NYC, Chicago, or San Francisco's. But the incremental roll-out was awful forcing many commuters to carry both tokens and cards until the system was fully updated. Now two years in the system works very well with only a few minor problems. If only we could say the same thing about the actual transportation system. It seems the biggest problem with the system are the people who insist on adding money to their cards or paying with cash when entering a bus or train. A simple simple solution is to have the driver simply tell them to wait until everyone else is on-board. They do this in many other places, why not here? read more

Charlie is the man! While not a perfect system, having a card than can be quickly and easily reloaded is leaps and bounds better than a token or cash system. If you are running low, the kiosks to add money are super simple. Its also nice to get a discounted rate. When you ride a lot, every little bit of savings helps. After all, thats more money that you can spend at Finale! The thing that I didn't like about the Charlie Card was that the amounts that you could easily put on the card were not multiples of the $1.70 per ride cost. I didn't want to put $20 on there and have to deal with a small remainder every time. It just made more sense for me to put $17 on for 10 rides so that everything was even. A little on the OCD side, but what can I say, I'm a bit of a freak sometimes. Now it has been brought to my attention that you can in fact avoid this problem by choosing the "other amount" option. I guess I was always in such a hurry that I never bothered to look. (Thanks for the note on that one) While not a problem with the Charlie Card itself, I hate that people are always squeezing through the gates when you go to swipe your card. Just pay the stupid $2 for your ride or better yet, get a Charlie Card of your own and only pay $1.70 per ride. If you can't afford the $2, borrow, beg, or hoof it, but don't use my fare to cheat the system. read more

Minus 1 star for not being able to buy a year long Charlie Card pass. Now that would rock! But no worries. I still like you very much, Charlie. You let me purchase month to month online, and I don't even have to take you out of my wallet for you to scan! You a wondrous little piece of plastic! Yay for Charlie! read more

Go get the Charlie Card to save some money! If you have more than one person, then you can share a card. It is extremely easy to add money to the card. Just go to the kiosk, tap the card to the machine, add money, pay for the additional fare, and tap the card back to the machine. You're all set to travel around Boston. Yay. Single Fare for Subway - $2 Charlie Card Fare for Subway - $1.70 read more

OK. It took a while. (Not as long as it took for me to update my review). After some persistence, I did get my refund and learned that the card I was using was from a batch of company issued half-priced cards. I had gotten a subsidized MBTA Charlie card at a discount, as a benefit, from work. I had stopped using it when I needed to go to a monthly issued pass for a higher zone on the commuter rail. I gave it to my daughter to use, thinking I could add value as needed. The subsidized card looked exactly like the Charlie card, but cards of that type were giving trouble across the system, being unable to update and recharge online. They work fine at the stations and can have value added on-site, just not online. No further problems with a Charlie card gotten from an agent at the "T" read more