Saw this on the T on the way to work. I've mentioned before that the new fareboxes on the older streetcars like to not work on occasion.
This one had decided not to accept dollar bills. Fare without a CharlieCard is $2.
A guy gets on the stop after mine and tries to feed two singles into the slot. The angry BEEPBEEPBEEP given by the farebox upon attempted insertion of the first bill should have clued him in that it wasn't working (as well as the red LED next to the slot, but oh well).
Guy: "It's not taking my money. The fare is two dollars, right?"
Driver: "Yup. The machine isn't accepting dollar bills right now, so it's the card or exact change."
Guy: "OK. Will it take singles?"
The whole front of the train turns their heads in unison to witness this failure of comprehension.
Businessman next to me: "No dollar bills means no paper money at all."
Guy: "Oh. What about a fiver?"
Businessman: "Even if it was working, you wouldn't get any change back." (I'm sure the MBTA would be grateful for the donation though)
The next car on the train did have a working bill acceptor, which the guy understood after a few more minutes of back-and-forth.
So tell me, when did "dollar bill" and "single" come to mean two completely different things?
This one had decided not to accept dollar bills. Fare without a CharlieCard is $2.
A guy gets on the stop after mine and tries to feed two singles into the slot. The angry BEEPBEEPBEEP given by the farebox upon attempted insertion of the first bill should have clued him in that it wasn't working (as well as the red LED next to the slot, but oh well).
Guy: "It's not taking my money. The fare is two dollars, right?"
Driver: "Yup. The machine isn't accepting dollar bills right now, so it's the card or exact change."
Guy: "OK. Will it take singles?"
The whole front of the train turns their heads in unison to witness this failure of comprehension.
Businessman next to me: "No dollar bills means no paper money at all."
Guy: "Oh. What about a fiver?"
Businessman: "Even if it was working, you wouldn't get any change back." (I'm sure the MBTA would be grateful for the donation though)
The next car on the train did have a working bill acceptor, which the guy understood after a few more minutes of back-and-forth.
So tell me, when did "dollar bill" and "single" come to mean two completely different things?
Comment