Ring of Steel: Fare Gates at BOS, BON, & BBY

sery2831 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 8:46 pm The gates at North Station are around the waiting area. Gates are not at the doors, that would be unsafe.

At South Station they will be in the new concourse created by the tower being built. That is why the platforms have been shortened.

Long term the gates will be used during events. To start while the bugs are worked out, they will not be.

So the platforms at South Station are being shortened. This will likely exacerbate terminal capacity issues somewhat.

Also, fare gates will increase crowding issues and passenger flow issues at all three stations.

The platforms have already been shortened by the tower project.

Does it matter that the platforms are a little shorter? As far as I can remember only very long trains and electric Amtrak trains have been pulling all the way into the platforms for decades. Ever since the bus terminal was built over the tracks the CR trains have stopped with their locomotives railroad west of the bus terminal so their exhaust mostly isn't trapped under it, haven't they?

Also, too bad to lose the free access to the platforms that made it easy for fans and for people helping friends and relatives to the trains.

I'm nearing the end of week 1 of hybrid work schedule and commuting via North Station. There was a huge backup exiting the controlled access area because 4 of 6 gates in a particular section were out of service. The depressing part was that people weren't getting upset. The general reaction was more "well, that's the T for you!" eye rolling.

It’s depressing that people weren’t getting upset over an incredibly minor inconvenience? I’d say it’s reassuring that these people had some perspective and unlike you realized that it’s not a huge deal.

It’s depressing that people weren’t getting upset over an incredibly minor inconvenience?

The reason I found it depressing was that it felt like the result of low expectations. i.e. We've been conditioned with such low expectations or such failures are so common that we're numb to the pain.

Fire regulations require that exits not be blocked. Sounds like exits were blocked. "but if there was a fire the broken exits would automatically unlock"...sure they would.

danib62 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:25 am It’s depressing that people weren’t getting upset over an incredibly minor inconvenience? I’d say it’s reassuring that these people had some perspective and unlike you realized that it’s not a huge deal.

People should be getting upset over an incredibly unnecessary inconvenience. It is a huge deal that the T and Keolis are more interested in high tech redundant fare enforcement than they are in operating trains.

I don't go to the city much anymore, but last week I finally got to see what everyone is talking about at BON. I kind of like the idea that my ticket purchase is being acknowledged at the gate, in the past when I did ride often, it was Salem or Beverly - with my destination being NBYPT -by the time someone came to check my ticket, so I can see how short ride evaders would be a problem. I like how it controls who is in the waiting area, except for that one time in Plymouth, BON is the only place on the T I'm approached by panhandlers/con artists.
What I don't understand is why I need a valid ticket to get OUT of the waiting area?

To catch the short ride evaders who are traveling inbound.

arthur d. wrote: ↑Sat Jan 21, 2023 7:53 amWhat I don't understand is why I need a valid ticket to get OUT of the waiting area?

This is really a function for AFC 2.0, when all fares will be purchased prior to boarding the train. The idea is that passengers who do not purchase a ticket in advance will be charged a zone 8 fare to leave the station, which will deter people from doing so (think like leaving a parking garage without a timestamped ticket). In the current setup, wherein things like staffing and equipment issues can result in people legitimately unable to pay, controlled exit should not be a thing.

MBTA3247 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:54 pm To catch the short ride evaders who are traveling inbound.

I never thought of that. Thank you.

CRail wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2023 1:30 am

arthur d. wrote: ↑Sat Jan 21, 2023 7:53 amWhat I don't understand is why I need a valid ticket to get OUT of the waiting area?

This is really a function for AFC 2.0, when all fares will be purchased prior to boarding the train. The idea is that passengers who do not purchase a ticket in advance will be charged a zone 8 fare to leave the station,

There are no ticket vending machines inside the area controlled by the gates. You have to leave to buy a ticket, but you can't leave unless you already have one.

That makes sense given that every arriving passenger should already have a ticket.

After using these gates for a month and a half, my feeling is that they're generally working well, but there is room for improvement, but nothing that seems like a fatal flaw so far.

The Good
In general, the gates aren't a huge impediment. During the morning rush, the longest wait I've had has been about 30 seconds, which isn't too bad. In the evening, there's never a wait as the people arrive over time rather than all at once like when a train arrives. Staff is also available at each gate to help keep things moving. The waiting area itself seems less crowded and has far fewer people just hanging out.

The Meh
Every day multiple gates are broken and are either "closed", not reading CR codes, NFC not working, or something similar. The sheer number of other gates mitigates this, so it's not a massive issue. For those used to Charlie Card fare gates, the ones at North Station seem abysmally slow. Reading CR codes from the mTicket app also feels much slower than similar things elsewhere. There's also no tap and go or capability for multiple people to tap and exit in one gate open/close cycle. Another meh is that it can be hard to get the T staff's attention when they're busy on the phone or chatting up other T staff & transit police. This seems to be more of an issue during less busy times.

The Bad
This happens to some degree on the subway as well, but seems MUCH, MUCH worse here. Every instance I've seen of someone looking to ENTER the gated area during the morning rush of people trying to leave has required T Staff to yell at people to let them in.