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Long live the passback: MBTA changes course on fare payment practice
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Before you swipe back to SharkTok, let’s get to the news:
Passback comeback: It turns out the MBTA is keeping so-called “passback” payments after all. After initially planning to phase out passbacks with their upcoming contactless fare payment system, T officials tell WBUR the popular practice among many riders is here to stay. You can thank General Manager Phil Eng.
- What’s a passback? You’ve probably done it if you’ve ever tried to take out-of-town friends or family on the T. Instead of making them get a separate CharlieCard they’ll never use again, you just tap your CharlieCard on the fare reader and then hand it back for them to use. (It only works if you have stored value on your Charlie Card, rather than a monthly pass.)
- Flashback: In 2022, T officials announced they would be getting rid of passbacks with the contactless payment system, since riders would need to carry their own “proof of payment” on board.
- What changed? Eng, who arrived at the T in 2023, directed the agency to change course and tweak the configuration of the new tech to allow passbacks, according to T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. In a statement, Eng said he’s a fan of the ease passbacks give groups. “I consider it a family-friendly feature that allows a group of people to access our system with just one phone or one card,” Eng said.
- FYI: Don’t try to tap your CharlieCard on the new fare readers when the tap-to-pay tech turns on in August. CharlieCard users will still have to use the old fare readers.
On Beacon Hill: While you were sleeping, the Massachusetts Senate passed a $2.86 billion economic development bond bill last night. And while the term “economic development bond bill” might put you back to sleep, there are a few head-turning proposals packed in there.
- For starters, it includes a zoning change that would pave the way for a soccer stadium in Everett. The Senate also adopted an amendment to let cities and towns decide if they want to allow happy hours.
- The big but: Don’t get too excited just yet. The Senate has passed both of those proposals in the past, only to see them stripped out of the compromise bill ultimately negotiated with the House. The two chambers have until July 31 to reach a deal.
In other T news: Shuttles aren’t the only thing coming soon to the Red Line. The MBTA will follow through on its plan to install cabinets containing the overdose reversal drug naloxone, or Narcan, at five Red Line stations later this month. As WBUR’s Martha Bebinger first reported last summer, it’s part of a pilot program to test the effectiveness of expanding public access to the medication.
- Which stations? Quincy Center, Ashmont, Andrew, South Station and Harvard. Rachel Morse, the T’s director of transit policy, says those stations were selected based on nearby overdose data, along with the short response times for Transit Police. The cabinets will be located in areas on both sides of the fare gates, as well as near or inside station restrooms.
- Heads up: That 16-day partial Red Line shutdown now begins tonight at 8:15 p.m. between Alewife and Kendall/MIT.
Camping curious? Massachusetts is offering free camping at the Myles Standish State Forest on the South Shore this weekend. It’s the first time the state has offered the promotion since the pandemic.
- What to know: The offer specifically encourages people who’ve never camped before to try it this weekend. There’ll be outdoor activities, staff on hand to help people set up their campsites — and even tents and camp stoves to borrow.
- Act fast: Spaces for the free weekend are limited, so families are encouraged to sign up ahead of time. Learn how here.
Just short: An effort in Quincy to hold a referendum on Mayor Thomas Koch’s big pay raise has come up short. The group “A Just Quincy” was hoping to get over 8,000 signatures by this past Monday to force a citywide vote to repeal Koch’s raise, but ultimately got just over 6,000 signatures. Koch’s annual salary is set to jump from roughly $150,000 to $285,000 on Jan. 1, 2025.
P.S.— What did archeologists recently find in Concord? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.
