Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
MEDFORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — If you stop by the Wellington Orange Line stop, you may notice some new tech on the fare gates.
The MBTA has installed its new fare readers at Wellington, marking the first step in changing how MBTA riders can pay for their train fares. The new fare readers sit on top of the current ones and are not operational yet, but when they are they will allow riders to pay with more than just a Charlie Card.
Once the new far readers are fully operational, riders can pay with common forms of contactless payment, such as using their phone or a tap card, to pay for fares without using a Charlie Card. Transit systems in cities like New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. already have features that allow you to pay with your phone, and riders are excited it's coming to the MBTA.
"If you can do it by phone that will be better because nobody forgets their phone," one rider said. "Yesterday I forgot my wallet but my phone is [always] on me. It's going to be better like that."
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Other riders are excited that the new fare machines may spread up the process of paying for a ride.
"That's going to be great," one rider said. "The easiest it can be, the better it is for us. We'll get to our jobs faster."
The MBTA said it expects the fare transformation program to be completed by 2025.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) reports.
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