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People getting on T buses and Green Line trolleys at surface stops will start boarding in the rear tomorrow
By adamg on Fri, 03/20/2020 - 9:45pm
The MBTA announced today that starting Saturday, most bus passengers will have to board through the rear exit - with a similar policy on Green Line trolleys at street-level stops - to try to keep drivers and passengers at least six feet apart while keeping buses and trains moving for essential hospital workers and first responders going to and from work.
Passengers with disabilities will still be allowed to board through the front entrances, the T says.
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Comments
Now just dump fares
Now just dump fares for this.. just let people ride for free.
Half way there
Busses and above ground Trolley service is now free due to this decision. (Per the Globe, at least.) They aren't expecting riders to walk to the front and pay.
Was there a dress rehearsal before this roll-out?
Or is "try to keep" intended to be ever-elusive?
Enter at rear door, walk to front to swipe card and/or add $$ to card to swipe, then reverse course against the other 30 passengers waiting to swipe to find a seat...
Meanwhile in St John's County FL
The Sunshine Bus Company is implementing a Social Distancing Policy restricting the number of occupants to 10 per vehicle, including the driver, and requiring patrons to maintain a six-foot distance from other passengers.
To sustain transportation services during this time, our drivers have been instructed to call dispatch when nine passengers have boarded their vehicle to ensure that another vehicle will be dispatched for additional passengers.
Charlie, can you hear me?
Since the fare boxes are....
.... closer than 6 feet from the drivers, how are passengers supposed to pay?
You're not
According to the globe, they are not asking riders to pay and say the trips are free. (Still pay when using a turnstile.) This applies to the Mattapan trolley too.
Yeah, they didn't charge me
Yeah, they didn't charge me on the SL3 outbound (inbound is always free). The fare boxes weren't even turned on.
SL3 inbound is always free?
Was that from every stop? When did that happen?
SL3 is fare-free inbound from Chelsea
Not sure if that includes the stop at Airport. I believe this started last summer and is part of the mitigation for the work on the Tobin and Washington St. bridges.
Maybe
I was on the 80 bus today and though the driver was only opening the rear door, he was also making everyone (which was not many) walk up to the front to pay. Maybe there's still some confusion on the new instructions.
Fair to assume...
That they can't collect fares on buses/GL. The farebox is closer to the driver than a passenger simply entering through the front door.
NYC, too:
NYC, too:
https://nypost.com/2020/03/20/nyc-buses-going-back-door-boarding-only-du...
How does this work?
Are we to assume fare will be free for the duration of this? Otherwise people are boarding in the rear, walking past people to the front, close to the driver, to pay, and then walking back again, which defeats the purpose of the whole thing. As per usual, the T is being completely counterintuitive. Like cutting back service (purportedly now restored) on the ever-busy Blue Line when they should have added service.
Mattapan trolleys, too?
A lot of people like myself are stuck
With our monthly passes for next month, 30 day notice to cancel. So the T is still getting more revenue than one would think.
Someone has to pay for those 40 yo retirees.
Do All the Impossible Things
My head is spinning! Everything that we were told was IMPOSSIBLE (reduce auto use, slash CO2 output, provide universal basic income, eliminate transit fares) is now all happening in one week!
Kind of amazing how we can transform our whole society to better care for one another through focused collective action!
If I were a younger man, I might believe there's a lesson here!