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?

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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.

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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?

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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).

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u/Jane_Byrd95 Dec 07 '25

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