Boston Public Transit Questions

[TickledBlue]

You've asked the magic questions. It's a catch-22. You need a Charlie Card to get the reduced fare, but it can be difficult find a place to get a Charlie Card. Many stations are virtually unattended with ticket machines (where you can get a Charlie Ticket) but there is no human to give you a Charlie Card.

 

I'm betting you can find someone to give you a Charlie Card at the airport Blue Line Station. You can also ride the Silver Line for free from the airport. If you get off at South Station, you are likely to be able to find someone to give you a Charlie Card. This is not an issue for local folks because most Bostonians will have a Charlie Card already if they ever use the T.

 

The day Pass is $11, which is worth 5.5 normal T rides. A 7 day pass is $18. I haven't used the day pass. The MBTA site seems to indicate that these passes become valid when you buy them.

 

What are you planning on doing in Boston? Are you sure you need a day pass?

 

Thanks so much for the information. You are probably correct that a day pass would not be needed. We are going to probably need transportation four times in a day post-cruise (we'll need to drop off our luggage at the hotel and then go sightseeing).

 

Wonder how well it worked out for the OP.

[harryfat1]

Thanks so much for the information. You are probably correct that a day pass would not be needed. We are going to probably need transportation four times in a day post-cruise (we'll need to drop off our luggage at the hotel and then go sightseeing).

 

Wonder how well it worked out for the OP.

 

Hi,

 

I was the OP. Actually, we had an interesting trip to Boston. As the saying goes, things don’t always go the way you plan them on cc.

 

The original plan was to fly from California into Boston on red eye 2 nights before the cruise and spend the day pre cruise exploring the area via the T and then take SL1/SL2 to the pier on day 1 of the cruise. Well, we never made it out of California that night. JetBlue had everyone on the plane/tarmac for 2 plus hour and then announced at 2 AM that the plane has mechanical problems and everyone has to get off the plane to stand in the long line at the counter to rebook a flight at later time. By 4 AM, we finally were placed on a different flight for the next night to Boston. Which meant we had to cancel hotel and all touring plans for that day. The backup flight got us to Boston the morning of the cruise and we were dead tired having been up late on consecutive nights and given the time crunch, we opted out taking SL1/SL2 to the pier and just got a large minivan taxi for the 6 of us.

 

One side note – there was a large family group ahead of us in the JetBlue cancelled flight that was booked on the HAL cruise leaving that afternoon. With the cancelled flight, there was no way they would make it to Boston by sailing time. So they were on 2 phone calling at 4 AM with both the airline and HAL trying to figure out if they can catch the cruise either on first port or the second port after it sailed away. As much as it was disappointing to miss the 1 sightseeing in Boston pre cruise, at least we made it to the ship. I would highly recommend anyone to get to the port city 1 day early just in case of these transportation hiccups.

 

Post cruise – After collecting the luggage, we just walked across the street to stand in line for the SL2 to transfer to SL1 and take us to the airport and then the hotel shuttle to Embassy Suites for 1 night post cruise stay. The line for SL2 was surprising long, at least 50 people ahead of us with the bus already full and by time we got to the front for the next bus, there must be another 100 after us. The wait area for SL2 at the pier is out in the open along the walkway so if it was a rainy day, it wouldn’t be something I would recommend.

 

After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel, we walked to the blue T-line “Airport” station to go to downtown. The original hope was to find a live agent to obtain a Charlie card (not Charlie ticket) in order to save couple bucks for the group. However, there was no agent at that stop on a Sunday afternoon. I even tried pressing the station button asking for live help to get a Charlie card – only to be told they don’t have them. So we just opted for the regular Charlie ticket. Then next day morning (Monday), we walked to the same station and that was when we found a live agent and obtained one Charlie card for all of us. I had thought each of us needed a separate card but was told just add enough fares on the one card using the machine and then the card handler just have each person walk through – the kids went through free – and then the last person is the card holder to walk through. I asked about the senior card but was told that we can’t get them at that station.

 

Hopefully this thread/info is helpful as it helped me understand Boston mass transit prior to our visit. Thanks again to all that provided insightful info.

 

Cheers,

[TickledBlue]

Hi,

 

I was the OP. Actually, we had an interesting trip to Boston. As the saying goes, things don’t always go the way you plan them on cc.

 

The original plan was to fly from California into Boston on red eye 2 nights before the cruise and spend the day pre cruise exploring the area via the T and then take SL1/SL2 to the pier on day 1 of the cruise. Well, we never made it out of California that night. JetBlue had everyone on the plane/tarmac for 2 plus hour and then announced at 2 AM that the plane has mechanical problems and everyone has to get off the plane to stand in the long line at the counter to rebook a flight at later time. By 4 AM, we finally were placed on a different flight for the next night to Boston. Which meant we had to cancel hotel and all touring plans for that day. The backup flight got us to Boston the morning of the cruise and we were dead tired having been up late on consecutive nights and given the time crunch, we opted out taking SL1/SL2 to the pier and just got a large minivan taxi for the 6 of us.

 

One side note – there was a large family group ahead of us in the JetBlue cancelled flight that was booked on the HAL cruise leaving that afternoon. With the cancelled flight, there was no way they would make it to Boston by sailing time. So they were on 2 phone calling at 4 AM with both the airline and HAL trying to figure out if they can catch the cruise either on first port or the second port after it sailed away. As much as it was disappointing to miss the 1 sightseeing in Boston pre cruise, at least we made it to the ship. I would highly recommend anyone to get to the port city 1 day early just in case of these transportation hiccups.

 

Post cruise – After collecting the luggage, we just walked across the street to stand in line for the SL2 to transfer to SL1 and take us to the airport and then the hotel shuttle to Embassy Suites for 1 night post cruise stay. The line for SL2 was surprising long, at least 50 people ahead of us with the bus already full and by time we got to the front for the next bus, there must be another 100 after us. The wait area for SL2 at the pier is out in the open along the walkway so if it was a rainy day, it wouldn’t be something I would recommend.

 

After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel, we walked to the blue T-line “Airport” station to go to downtown. The original hope was to find a live agent to obtain a Charlie card (not Charlie ticket) in order to save couple bucks for the group. However, there was no agent at that stop on a Sunday afternoon. I even tried pressing the station button asking for live help to get a Charlie card – only to be told they don’t have them. So we just opted for the regular Charlie ticket. Then next day morning (Monday), we walked to the same station and that was when we found a live agent and obtained one Charlie card for all of us. I had thought each of us needed a separate card but was told just add enough fares on the one card using the machine and then the card handler just have each person walk through – the kids went through free – and then the last person is the card holder to walk through. I asked about the senior card but was told that we can’t get them at that station.

 

Hopefully this thread/info is helpful as it helped me understand Boston mass transit prior to our visit. Thanks again to all that provided insightful info.

 

Cheers,

 

Just like you, I like to these types of details planned so your update is appreciated.

 

We have similar plans for post-cruise and now I know a Charlie card is out of the picture on that day (Sunday). So I guess I'll look for them pre-cruise since we'll be there a day early. Either way, it is only a couple of bucks difference for 2 people. I would have thought that each person needed their own Charlie card as well.

 

Sorry about your delayed flight, we had a similar situation when we did an Australian cruise. That cruise overnighted at the origin port the first night so it was no problem catching the ship but we were out a good day of sightseeing.