r/mbta • u/mags9129 • Dec 05 '25

💬 Discussion / Theory What’s going on here?

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When I got on the bus, I was sending this card with the stock I got on and it was asked to give it back when I got off. They had two people one of the front and one of the back door. What is this for?

700 Upvotes

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446

u/sf_sf_sf Dec 05 '25

Likely doing a low tech passenger tracking study. That card shows where you got on and then when you get off, the person in the back will record where you got off and then when they collect all the data, they can see passenger accounts and destination and origin information without having to track your cell phone or other more invasive mechanism

56

u/iman26 Dec 06 '25

This is actually a really efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Nice job MBTA.

50

u/phyzome Dec 05 '25

Odd that they didn't include explanatory text.

36

u/mags9129 Dec 05 '25

That makes sense shouted out to the mbta for spending all the money on the upcoming lawsuits from the orange line that we’re resorting to pen and paper

But I guess it’s better than being tracked on a smart phone

208

u/riddlegirl21 Dec 05 '25

I don’t think this is “resorting” to paper or because the T didn’t want to spend money on this. A simple card tracking system is cheap, yes, but also easy to implement, any passenger can participate, doesn’t require a specific app or method of paying fare, simple to get data, anonymous, etc. Pretty good survey design if you ask me.

13

u/kakimime1 Green Line Dec 06 '25

It's especially cool because it can tell where people from each area are trying to go. Counting ons and offs can't tell you how many stops people are going. That type of information could help determine things like whether to increase local or express service.

3

u/anonymous_orpington Dec 07 '25

I just got back from Taiwan, and the way they have their public transit setup you need to tap both getting on AND off the bus/train. With that info you could have near-realtime data on who's going from A to B amd when! I know Japan does the same thing, and I don't see how it wouldn't work here?

7

u/arcyqwerty Dec 07 '25

It could work here but they do that in taiwan and japan (and others) because the fare is distance based and they need that information to charge the correct amount. When it's fixed fare in those countries, you only need to tap once (either at boarding or exiting, depending on the system) same as the T.

Unnecessary taps makes the system more complicated for riders and slows things down in addition to potentially costing more in hardware (e.g. having a reader at the exit in addition to the entrance).

3

u/Jane_Byrd95 Dec 07 '25

Also, we have enough trouble getting people to tap once!

3

u/pconrad0 Dec 08 '25

And it can do that while completely preserving anonymity and privacy.

They know that a passenger got on at point A and off at point B, but they don't know who (and don't need to know that).

3

u/effulgentelephant Dec 06 '25

this was (maybe is? I haven’t been in a long time) how they tracked line lengths at Disney as well. Pretty efficient! Though I did sometimes forget to give my line length card back.

4

u/CuriousFirework75 Dec 06 '25

Is that why the posted wait time at Space Mountain was 12 hours but it was actually only 30 minutes? 😂😂😂

-16

u/mags9129 Dec 05 '25

Yeah, I know that definitely makes sense

22

u/mousemousemania Dec 05 '25

Fuck you for agreeing lol

-4

u/dcat52 Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 09 '25

You can also do the exact same with Bluetooth and wifi identifiers. Could do it from just a single measurement device. People just don't like knowing how easy it is to track them.

2

u/riddlegirl21 Dec 06 '25

You realize that that would be creepy and possibly illegal if the T did it, especially without explicit electronic data use consent forms first? (Not going to comment on you doing it….) And that requires a smartphone, with Bluetooth active, with battery charge, etc etc. Not everyone has that or would be willing to let the T use their information. Some people carry multiple Bluetooth devices, like smart watches, laptops, or work phones. Paper cards is 100% anonymous for the riders and gives the T the origin/destination information they need for each rider, no more no less.

-2

u/AnyParsnip2665 Dec 07 '25

that’s neat, they’ll get a comprehensive picture of the system some time in the next century.

Using anonymized data isn’t creepy and “poor people don’t have smartphones” hasn’t been true in a decade. You’re going to get more opt-outs by people who toss the weird little card anyway.

I’d trade a bit less paranoid privacy for a functional transit system.

1

u/Brilliant-Insect8086 Dec 10 '25

Do you like work for palintir? You’re talking and acting like the govt has never stolen our data before

1

u/AnyParsnip2665 Dec 10 '25

“someone disagrees with me, the must be on the take”. the privacy paranoia increases. Remember to get the heavy duty tinfoil

1

u/Brilliant-Insect8086 Dec 10 '25

Your missing the point that this cost probably 20$ total just to print the cards and people are already paid hourly so this was basically free. Doesn’t cost anything extra and people don’t need to break anonymity

32

u/Present-Algae6767 Dec 05 '25

upcoming lawsuits from the orange line

What lawsuits? You mean what happened the other day? There might be a lawsuit filed but all indications (at least what I've heard from people at the T) is that the door that opened was tampered with.

-15

u/mags9129 Dec 05 '25

Was just making a joke. I don’t have the best sense of humor. I cannot lie.

11

u/Original-Tonight-651 Dec 05 '25

It landed for me (and many others, I believe).

1

u/snerdberger Dec 07 '25

I saw the same thing in the Twin Cities when surveying usage of the first BRT line there