Transportation in Boston (T)

[Storygirl]

We are going to be in Boston for a couple of days, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get T passes for my family. I'm reading information online, but I'm not clear on how it works now. I lived in the area twenty years ago, so I'll be able to get us around via the T, but I want to understand how the passes work.

 

We are going on a cruise that leaves from Boston on a Friday, and we will arrive on Wednesday to do some pre-cruise sightseeing. We will need to use the T on Wednesday, Thursday, and on Friday morning. Although we plan to do a lot of walking (Freedom Trail), I know we will want to use the subway some of the time.

 

Will it be cheaper to buy a multi-day pass than to pay by the ride? What is the Charlie card, and do we need one, or is there some other kind of pass we can use? Can we buy passes at the airport somewhere? Are there three day passes, or just weeklong passes?

 

Three of my kids are young enough to ride for free. How do we manage this? Do they just go through the turnstile along with the parent? (I'm not sure we will be able to fit two people through at one time.)

 

If we just pay by the ride, do we pay cash at a ticket booth, or do we need correct change to put into a meter or machine?

[MEmama]

We have purchased the Charlie card at the kiosk at the station. I think you can $ on it if you need to use it more than you originally figured. IIRC we pay by credit card so no need to have exact change.

 

When DS was younger he just walked through the turnstile with one of us.

 

Mostly though, we just walk. It's a really small inner city (including Cambridge) and very pedestrian friendly.

Edited June 8, 2016 by MEmama

[Storygirl]

We will mostly walk, but we are staying by the airport and won't be able to walk everywhere we want to go. At minimum, we will have to take the T to and from the hotel, and I know there will be other times we will want to hop on the T.

 

I used to live in Cambridge and work on Beacon Street half a block from the statehouse, so I'll be able to get us around without a problem. I'm just thinking through the logistics.

 

I know the kids won't fit through the turnstile at the same time that we go through (we are not thin). Especially because one adult will be taking two free kids through at once.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Storygirl

[MEmama]

Can the kids just duck under? It seems to me there are usually station workers around one could ask. I do remember thinking it wasn't terribly clear.

[Guest]

Can I piggyback a question?

 

I'm going to haha..

 

I can't find what the age is that requires a pass. What ages ride for free?

[MEmama]

Can I piggyback a question?

 

I'm going to haha..

 

I can't find what the age is that requires a pass. What ages ride for free?

http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/subway/

 

Age 11and under are free

[Guest]

http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/subway/

 

Age 11and under are free

 

Great, thanks!!

[Guest]

It says a limit of two children per adult. If I had my two kids and the baby in his sling do you think they'd make me pay for one of the kids?

[slackermom]

I will do my best to clarify!

 

At above ground stops where you pay on board the trolley (or bus), have the children board right in front of you, then insert the card in the fare box next to the driver.

 

So, at stations with turnstiles and staffed ticket windows, there is often a special gate that opens wide to allow strollers, wheelchairs, school groups, etc to pass through. It is opened by the person in the booth. If you have a pass, you can show it to the employee, who should then let you and your children through the gate.

 

If trying to get through a turnstile with a child, you have the child stand directly in front of you, you slide the card in, then as it opens you both walk through quickly. It should be open long enough for 2 quick people, but probably not 3. If you are traveling with 2 adults, this gets you through if you are carrying the third child.

 

Regarding Charlie cards, you can get a 24 hour pass for $12, a 7 day pass for $22.50, or you can get a pass that you put a set amount of money on, and it will deduct the fare each time you use it. I think you can also pay cash for your fare in most locations, though it costs a bit more.

 

To confuse the issue a bit more: There are plastic Charlie cards and paper cards. If you get a pass from a machine, it will be a paper ticket. If it is a 1 or 7 day pass, it doesn't matter that it is paper, it will work the same way. But, if you are using stored value, note that the machine will deduct a full fare each time you use it. With a plastic card, it will apply a lower transfer rate at times when you need to switch from bus to trolley, etc.

[Joules]

We had no problem buying them at the station when visited.  Most everything was walkable, but we the the T to the science museum.  I can't rightly remember if it was really too far, or I was just feeling lazy that day. 

[slackermom]

Regarding paying by cash, at stations you can get change, but paying on board, have exact change, as they do not dispense change onboard, nor can they break a twenty, etc.

[Storygirl]

Thanks, everyone! That's really helpful!

 

Actually, since it is under 12 that gets on free, NOT 12 and under, it looks like my 12 year old should have a pass. Since I have four skinny kids, the two free kids can each go through the turnstile with a paid sibling. They shouldn't have trouble gliding by two at a time.

 

I think what we will do is buy the 7 day passes, even though we will only be there for three partial days. Paying by the trip will add up quickly and go over the weekly amount, I think. I'd like to have the freedom to hop on the T if we are tired, instead of walking, without having to calculate the cost each time.

 

I'll plan out our itinerary, though. Maybe I can do all of our longer distance things on the first day and get a 24 hour pass, then just pay by the ride for remainder of the visit. I'll do a little transportation math and figure out the best deal :driving:.

 

okbud, I doubt they would stop you at the gate to pay for the baby. If I were you, I'd just buy an adult ticket and take all three kids through the gate.

[slackermom]

I reread the OP to see if I answered everything.

 

First, I think the 7 day pass is a good value for your length of trip, and I think it beats having to dig out your wallet to find money every time.

 

You can get buy a pass in some airport terminals, as well as at the airport stop of the T. You buy the pass at a machine at the entrance to the station. A T pass can take two forms, either Charlie Card or paper ticket. If you buy it from the machine, it issues the paper ticket. The ticket will state that it is a one week pass, with valid time/date printed on in. The Charlie Card is the plastic card, you get it free in certain places, and then you can load a specific monetary value and/or a pass purchase on to the card at a machine, and it works like a tap credit card. The pass value won't be written on it, but when you tap it at the fare box, it reads it as a pass, or if there is no pass value, it deducts monetary value. For your length of stay, I doubt it is worth the hassle to track down the plastic cards.

 

While doubling up at the turnstile is how T travel with kids is handled in real life, the gate operated by the booth attendant is the official way to handle it, and at some super busy stations there may actually be an attendant standing at the gate to let your group through.

 

Also, the 7 day pass on a printed ticket is supposed to cover the fare for inner harbor ferry transport, if you want to take a ferry from the aquarium to the navy yard to see the USS Constitution. Lots of people who do the freedom trail on foot with kids stop short of the Navy yard due to the distance, but the ferry is a quick and easy alternative.

[Storygirl]

Thanks for the tips!

 

I remember taking the ferry once to save that walk out to the Constitution and back; it's good to know the T pass includes that.

 

Twenty years ago, they offered a three-day pass for the T. I remember that specifically, because a friend visiting me over a weekend purchased one. It's too bad that's not offered any more, because it would be perfect for us.

 

Anyway, it will be fun to show my kids and DH around town, even though we only have a couple of days.

[Lucy the Valiant]

I used to rush my kids through a turnstile with me, but a gate keeper once noticed us having a little trouble with that, and advised me to use the handicap-accessible gate (it stays open much longer). I did not realize (and apparently he didn't either) that I was supposed to be limited to 2 kids - I took 4 through all the time. (But won't now that I realize - whoops!)

 

The T also includes the silver line, which are the buses, and that expands the convenient network even further.

 

Check out the Constitution ferry online before you go - I believe one of them goes back to Faneuil Hall area (which may or may not be where you want to end up, haha!).