During the Government 3.0 studio, NuVu students explored ways that Government can push technology forward to improve the world around us, including some of our public amenities. The team of Sophie Weissbourd, Emily Lynch and Jilly Hughes looked at ways to improve the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts area. The idea behind their proposal is to increase revenue for the MBTA while offering beneficial services to its riders. The two main components of the proposal include the E-Z Vending Machine and CharlieCard App.

E-Z Vending Machine

The touch screen vending machine is able to go inside the Commuter rail trains and in train stations. There are four main screens that have images of food, drinks, reading material, and electronics. Ordering from the machine is like ordering from online. You choose what you want and then a total appears on the bottom screen. People can delete what they do not want then check out when they are finished. This way it will take less time for people. People can choose to pay using their credit or debit card, cash, CharlieCard, or using the CharlieCard app. On the side of the machine is a coffee, tea, and hot chocolate dispenser. Milk and sugar packets are available and are dispensed in the main bin. Trash and recycling disposal are available in the machine making it less likely for trash to collect on the trains.

CharlieCard App

The CharlieCard makes the MBTA easy to get around Boston quickly. It is more efficient then paying in cash each time you ride. Even though the CharlieCard is easier then using cash it is still a little bit difficult to handle. People have to put money on their card frequently and update it if it expires. People can also add money to if from an online account but then they would still have to update it with a machine in a train station before they use it again. Instead of going through this, people could have an app on their smart phones that would carry the CharlieCard. The app would have a bar-code that could be scanned. This would be instead of having the actual plastic or paper card.