Boston Transit: A recommendation to get the Zone 1A commuter rail pass instead of the LinkPass...

[randomness]

...from Train Mon, at http://trainmon.blogspot.com/2006/12/zone-1a-read-fine-print-do-detective.html:

By now, after reading a few other's blogs, it seems those chosen few savvy of us, such as myself, who live in the inner-city and inner-suburbs and regularly chose to beat the "rapid" transit bus and subway system by taking the Commuter Rail have come to the realization that, once January hits, the newly minted "Monthly Zone 1A Pass," not a CharlieCard loaded with the "Monthly LinkPass" will be the way to go. This is especially a concern for those of us who get our passes, way a gracious discount, through our prospective employers and have only another week or so to make sure we're getting the right pass for next month.

Train Mon goes through the logic in exhaustive detail.

Discuss.

Comments

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Train Main and Elizabeth are fucked. The MBTA Corporate Pass Program is not providing zone 1A passes, only local bus passes, linkpasses, boat passes, and zone 1-8 commuter rail passes.

At least, that's what I heard when I tried to sign up for a 1A pass come January. Perhaps if the MBTA gets enough complaints they'll change their mind.

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to sign up for a Zone 1A pass today. I'll let you know how it goes.... It'll have to be for February at this point anyway, as the January ones are ordered already (confirmed this morning).

T really and truly stands for suck....

[ron_newman]

Isn't this where you sign up for monthly passes online? I see Zone 1A listed along with all the other choices.

[frotz.livejournal.com]

You can buy them directly from the MBTA, but their Corporate Pass Program (where the MBTA sells passes in bulk to large organizations, and the companies resell them to employees and students and whatever, often discounted and usually pre-tax) doesn't offer them.

That, at least, was the story a few weeks ago. I've bitched moderately loudly about it, and I hold out some faint hope that they'll see the light and start offering them, but we'll see. (The 1A pass will presumably vanish as soon as the commuter rail and boats are set up to take LinkPass Charlie Cards, but I haven't heard of a glimmer of a schedule for that more specific than "2007, probably".)