Investment worth approximately $1 billion

After years of waiting and millions of dollars over budget, the MBTA has finally rolled out contactless payments across its bus network and select streetcar lines.

On the first day the system went live, passengers at Park Street Station seemed confused about how to pay their fares and get through the Green Line gates. Some tried to swipe their Charlie Card on the new payment screens but were unable to do so.

This is the phenomenon of this nearly billion-dollar system: the payment screens do not accept CharlieCards or daily and monthly passes, but they do accept credit and debit cards, smartphones and watches.

Passengers can tap their card or device on the screen at the boarding gate or on the cart itself.

There is no longer a need to purchase and top up CharlieCards, daily and monthly tickets before boarding, with contactless payments bringing the strained transport network into the 21st century.

You can still pay with traditional cash and contactless cards, and the CharlieCard scanners haven’t disappeared – they’re now just placed next to the new payment screens.

“Contactless payments are going to make it much easier for everyone to use our system, and that’s just part of what’s going to happen,” T CEO Phillip Eng said outside the Kenmore station Thursday morning.

Eng made his remarks after riding the Green Line with Gov. Maura Healey, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt and other Park Street officials. Contactless payment is available on Green Line and Mattapan Line buses and trolleys.

The implementation of the system has been long overdue and has taken more time and money than officials initially anticipated.

In 2017, officials secured a $723.3 million contract with California-based Cubic Transportation Systems for upgrades to replace the CharlieCard system.

The original contract was amended due to technological glitches and other issues, pushing the project from 2021 to this year at an expected cost of about $935.4 million.

“The idea is to make it easier,” Healey said. “You don’t have to hunt for change anymore, so that’s a really, really good thing.”

The system will expand to Commuter Rail in spring 2026, and will include a new state program for low-income passengers. CharlieCard is also due to be updated by 2025, when a mobile app is set to launch.

Authorities are urging passengers to “pay attention” to ticket readers located at vehicle doors as any impact on the device could result in charges being debited from their credit or debit cards.

The agency is hiring 16 engagement officers who will work with passengers to learn how to use the system. Once they join the team, they will issue tickets to passengers who have not paid, with fines ranging from a written warning to $100 for five or more violations over a three-year period.

With its automated payment system, the MBTA has caught up with the nation’s largest transit agencies, including New York, Denver, Chicago, Baltimore and San Francisco.

“I thought it was great,” Green Line passenger Joe Neari said after using the system for the first time and chatting briefly with Healey and Eng. “It’s good to keep evolving it because technology is what makes everything evolve.”

Originally published: August 1, 2024 at 4:47 PM