<p>is it worth getting this?</p>
<p>im not getting it.</p>
<p>Unless you hate walking you will not need one to get around campus ... if you head downtown A LOT then it might make sense. I'm not sure about the student rates but a T monthly pass costs the equivalent of something like 12-15 single ride fares.</p>
<p>it was definitely worth it for me because i really liked going around the city on weekends and after class and stuff.. but if you think you'll just be sticking close to campus or areas around it then not worth it.</p>
<p>I'd wait to buy one for the first couple months and see how often you take the T. Then you can get a monthly pass, and if you find that it would be worth it, you can upgrade to the semester pass. Otherwise just load up your Charlie Card regularly.</p>
<p>DS had a T pass for three years. The Charlie Card came into being his last year at BU and that is what he used. He found that he then just paid for what he used. At the time, buying a certain number of rides for your Charlie also gave you a discount over paying cash on the T. Is that still the case? DS went downtown regularly as he worked there...and even with that, he said he saved money charging Charlie up over the semester T pass.</p>
<p>I use the MBTA semester pass. It has worked well for me in that I take a heavy courseload and have classes at all ends of campus and cannot be late to some. I also have clinical obligations throughout the city and have to travel pretty much every day and have to be on time for those as well. If you're debating getting one, then don't and at least wait and see how often you use public transportation. You'll find the CharlieCard is probably the best thing going in that you pay for exactly how many rides you are going to use it for and there's a 30 cent discount per ride. I still opt for the semester pass though simply for the convenience of never having to worry about whether I have rides on a card or singles on me. But then again financially it becomes worth it to me as well so I mean it just depends. I also end up using the T way more than I would normally with a semester pass. I am constantly taking the T or bus down two or three stops in what would only be a five or ten minute walk just because I can, ya know?</p>
<p>Boston is such a fantastic walking city that a semester pass may not be worth the price. From Kenmore Square to Newbury Street and the Back Bay is a manageable 10-20 minute walk, and the neighborhoods are fairly up-scale, so safety isn't a concern. In cases where you're heading to the North End or you must be at a class on time and it is not within walking distance, riding the T is certainly worth it. But if you enjoy walking, or if you're in a central location on campus, I would opt for the CharlieCard.</p>
<p>One difference: your parents can pay for the semester pass easily but you have to load up a Charlie Card at a station using a credit card or cash. </p>
<p>BTW, how many of you kids know why it's called a Charlie Card. See</a> this. "He may ride forever neath the streets of Boston / He's the man who never returned."</p>
<p>I don't think it's worth it unless you plan on taking the T a lot. The T tends to be pretty slow above ground, and I usually walk to get to downtown Boston. Some people get it because they have classes on the opposite site of campus.</p>
<p>the one that BU offers--the semester pass (which is really 4 monthly passes) isn't worth getting. just get a charlie card and put $$ on it..that way you'll only pay for what you actually use. you'd need to use the t about 3 x a day just to break even on the semester pass that bu offers. plus, for the spring semester, you don't get a pass for january--only for feb, march, april, and may--even though you'll be on campus for 2 weeks in jan. so the charlie card is def the way to go</p>