Senator Will Brownsberger will sponsor a Senior CharlieCard Day on Monday, June 26 from 9 AM – 12 PM at the Beech Street Center, located at 266 Beech Street in Belmont. Seniors age 65 or older can save a trip to the MBTA offices in Downtown Boston and apply for a Senior CharlieCard at this event. Staff from the Office of Senator Brownsberger will be on hand to take photos and process applications, which will be provided. Seniors will just need to bring a valid, state-issued photo ID that includes date of birth. No advance sign-up is required. Senior CharlieCards will be sent to applicants by mail and may take six to eight weeks to process.
Senior CharlieCards may be used to receive reduced fares on all MBTA transportation services – including buses, subway, commuter rail, and the Salem-to-Boston ferry – in addition to discounted monthly passes, which are good for unlimited local bus and subway travel. More information about reduced senior fares can be found on the MBTA’s website.
Please Note: If you currently have a Senior CharlieCard that is about to expire and you need to renew it, you do not need to attend this event. Senior CharlieCards can be renewed for free over the phone by calling the MBTA at (617) 222-3200. Your renewed card will be sent by mail after processing. If, however, your Senior CharlieCard has already expired or you have lost it, then you may reapply in person at this event.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Quinn Diaz at (617) 722-1280 or quinn.diaz@masenate.gov.
I have the greatest respect for Senator Brownsberger’s initiatives. But I do feel that there should be a needs-based test for senior discounts. The T needs the revenue; I have a senior Charlie card–who can resist the discount?–but my income is sufficient that I should be paying full fare. No one gives me a 50% discount when I fill my car with gasoline–nor should they…..
Excellent! Going is a pain, and you have to pay at the regular rate both ways (they should change that!!)
Note — if you lose it, unless things havew changed, you can phone them, and they will send you one, with credit for what was already on your card! Really great.
REPLY TO WL:
A means test is time-consuming and very discouraging, especially if you don’t use the T a lot.
And part of the point is undoubtedly to increase ridership.
It also is very expensive to administer, and could result in more cost for the card.
IF aome sort of means test seems absolutely essential, then how about a simple statement that your income is “moderate”? (And no, not low-income. That involves a pride issue, as well as a question of if you are, as well as a question of conscience — too much to deal with.) Please Note: many fully qualified people don’t get public grants of any source for reasons of pride, and discouragement about the difficulty.
Moreover, means tests are often very unreasonable — for example, unless it’s changed, you don’t qualify for food stamps if you have over $2000 in assets other than a car or home. That means an IRA of $2001 makes you ineligible. And for fuel assistance, if you own a 2-family, rent is calculated, if it hasn’t changed, as gross rent minus only insurance and interest — forget necessary repairs, maintenance, etc. I had a client whose income on those criteria put him just $5 over the cut-off, and other expenses were still not considered.
So no, no means test!
1. In England local bus transport is free for everyone over 65 and the consequences are well appreciated: keeping cars off the road, reducing parking and accident problems and hugely increasing the mobility of older people, all with little administrative cost and without any sense of inequality.
2. Besides these advantages, older peoples’ usage must be greatest in out of rush hour times, and so provide a different kind of important public service.
Thank you for the thoughtfulness. I have a Senior CharlieCard that does not expire until 2014. I appreciate your efforts in this regard! Best, phil
please let me know if you have this registration opportunity again I cannot attend on Monday.
thank you