CharmPass Reviews

by SeymoreMacEachran

I used CharmPass yesterday to buy two tickets - my wife and her sister are going on a trip and wanted to take a bus to the airport. CharmPass seemed easy to use, but the instructions for activating the tickets are not clear. I activated the tickets shortly before leaving the house to catch the bus, but the tickets were no longer active when they got on the bus. Apparently the tickets are good for only a very few minutes after activation. This make CharmPass useless to us, as my wife is not tech savvy enough to open CharmPass on her smartphone and activate just before boarding. It also assumes one has an Internet connection to activate the tickets. Now I feel ripped off and angry we wasted our money and time with CharmPass.

by Teeluca

CharmPass is an easy way to buy commuter train tickets. However, it has serious issues in implementation. First, CharmPass does NOT support Wallet. You must run CharmPass to access the ticket. Second, and this is a related problem, CharmPass tries to check an online server before it will open and will frequently hang. Not very useful if you’re trying to display your ticket to the conductor. Fixing these two issues, ie. support wallet and have CharmPass open before checking a validation server, will greatly improve functionality.

by LelandJ

If the developer...

- adds the ability to see purchase history when buying more than one ticket (example: if I want to buy again the same two outbound and inbound tickets as before, I can choose my outbound ticket from Purchase History; but after tapping “Add Another Ticket”, there isn’t an option to return to the Purchase History screen and select my inbound ticket — I have to create it from scratch).

- makes CharmPass work offline in case cellular data service is bad in a crowded train station

- sends alerts about delays and changes based on the tickets I have active (although this feature would conflict with the offline request above)

- component to add tickets to Apple Watch (more of a nice-to-have bonus, but it’d be slick)

... then I’d probably give CharmPass five stars instead of three. It really is pretty easy to use, and how it integrates Apple Pay is a no-brainer.

Perhaps the only other missing feature is a way to find stations by location, like on a map. But I can find them in Apple Maps, and if I’m already at a station, I’d obviously know where it is and what name it has. So scratch my idea of adding complexity by integrating a map.

by Becknlee

There’s been too many times where I’ll be watching the arriving bus for work(22), and CharmPass will go to 0 minutes and then go back up some minutes. I depend on the accuracy of CharmPass to get me to and from work on time. Given CharmPass is more accurate than my google maps, it’s not perfect yet. I’d appreciate if this issue is fixed pronto.

by Lmerb

Everything about CharmPass is great, EXCEPT I am always stopped while boarding the second train in my journey because CharmPass shows an expired ticket after two hours. It seems this could be fixed relatively easily. It is an inconvenience to have to explain myself every time, and I’m just waiting for the day when a conductor makes me buy a new ticket…

by Revinstant

I’ve lived in Baltimore for most of my life and used the MTA nearly as long. I remember the paper transfer that would black out in the sun.

This is a very welcome addition.

It’s pretty painless and in a rapidly expanding world of mobile payment adoption it’s a requirement.

My only disappointment, and it’s a minor one. It’d be nice if the price difference was reflected in the application.

I understand that CharmPass requirements maintenance and development costs. But MDOT is a Govt entity so that’s all covered through funding. It’d be a strong push to use CharmPass if it cut 10-20 cents off the cost of a one way or daily pass.

None the less 🤘🏻 Excellent job.

by PatrickBmore

I’m really glad that there’s finally an easy way to get tickets or passes for transit in Maryland without having cash or a loaded CharmCard. When I’m trying to catch a MARC train at the last minute I don’t have to stop for a ticket and maybe miss the train. Same thing for when a Light Rail train shows up just when I do. Or, if I have my CharmCard and my child doesn’t I use the this app to buy their ticket.
My only frustration is that I once bought a ticket mistakenly for a route I’ll never take but there’s no way to refund the ticket, even though it’s still unused in my phone.
But overall it’s a great app.

by Ismith625

App was working flawlessly until this morning when i went to board the express bus. I had to login again which i didn’t have to do after i installed it and made my 1st purchase and after i logged back in my express pass didn’t show up as “EXPRESS PASS”. They had some long drawn out title. The bus driver almost didn’t believe me. Other than this minor issue great app!

by Samer_12

Whoever designed this experience should get a raise. Such a simple and easy app that makes purchasing your travel tickets so easy. It’s so easy, I think I mess up my ticket purchase at times. Would and have recommend

by Aliyah25

CharmPass is easy to use and so convenient seeing as I can buy the tickets on the go. I save time and anxiety by having my tickets already on my phone instead of stressing about having time to purchase my ticket (seeing as I’m usually running late).

by Narwhal Dentist

I ride the commuter bus pretty often but not enough to warrant a monthly pass. Previously, I had to either remember to bring cash or purchase tickets ahead of time online. With CharmPass I can buy tickets as I need them, at no extra cost. Works well and very convenient!

by Bald Gabboon

Excellent for instant ordering of tickets for MTA Commuter buses. Never run out or worry about having exact change. Have used this several months without an issue. Was always fast which was great on the mornings I realized I had used all my tickets as the bus pulled up. Easy to use

by Firah 😍

Need to fix ticket issues once I purchase my monthly bus pass the ticket will show up fine but the number and letter that suppose to be uploaded in the right hand corner in the red box. Instead their is just three dots in the box

by Distraught2022

Great for paying your fair in advance great for allowing acceptable social distance. Being hands-free and not having to touch surfaces that are constantly in contact with the public also helps in the fight against Covid and cross-contamination of other germs. Helps keep yourself the bus operator and other Passengers safe

by Meintzermoment

CharmPass is wonderful but the next question is when is Baltimore going to follow CharmPass and modernize the system to accommodate CharmPass ? I use metro and why no scan to get through booth. MTA booth employees are literally rude and customer service has yet to be acceptable. Thanks for CharmPass but the state and Baltimore City are the last to get anything as far as convenience.

by JLS8282

I’ve updated this review now that the login issue is fixed. CharmPass has been great. For a few days you had to login every time you used CharmPass , but that isn’t happening now. If it’s still happening to you, delete CharmPass and re-download it and it should work again without making you log in each time.

by Jtrane

I was part of the beta testing group for CharmPass and aside from the occasional confused bus driver CharmPass worked like a charm. That is until the latest update. Now every time I open CharmPass I need to input my email address and password (touch ID no longer works). Makes it really hard to catch a bus in a hurry and not end up holding up the line while you fumble to sign in to CharmPass .

This needs to be fixed immediately!

by Spallinger

Got CharmPass to purchase a ticket on the 9pm MARC from DC to Penn. almost had to repurchase as CharmPass would not stay open in order to show my ticket. Had to pull up purchase history on the website which was very cumbersome and the conductor had no time for that and did not believe me once I did show him my online ticket. Please fix CharmPass. I’d like to try the city link buses in Baltimore but am scared to purchase a pass due to this wonky app.

by Sohaila Zia

When I first purchase CharmPass , I made my profile & add my mode of payment. It was easy to purchase tickets as you have to select your mode of transportation from the drop down menu. However, I didn’t know that purchasing the tickets are different from activating the tickets. When you buy the tickets, there an expiration date. But, when you click on the ticket it is activated. This means that if the train conductor do not check your activation than the ticket you purchase is wasted.

by Aye.T

I am so glad to have an app now! It is very stylish and easy to use and I am happy to not have to go out of my way to buy a paper ticket. This is an eco friendly, time saving, money saving app. No more used tickets in the recycling, don't have to worry about not having cash or a ticket for the train or bus, can buy what i need as i need it on the spot. Love it!

by Hdmdbsksnscsmmdgdjkd

The first 4 digits on the top that it ask you to fill out does not specify what 4 digits from the card it would like. It never fails to end up saying “ card not supported”. So I linked my pay pal to CharmPass so I could try that way. It worked for the first two days the suddenly kept saying “ payment failed”. Which confuses me because I definitely have money in my account so there should be no reason why the payment would fail. Now I’m late for work.

by MeintBaltimor

CharmPass is wonderful but the next question is when is Baltimore going to follow CharmPass and modernize the system to accommodate CharmPass ? I use metro and why no scan to get through booth. MTA booth employees are literally rude and customer service has yet to be acceptable. Thanks for CharmPass but the state and Baltimore City are the last to get anything as far as convenience.

by MissJMonroe

CharmPass worked seamlessly (w/ the exception of the MTA Metro agent not being able to articulate how or when to open the “Use Ticket” tab). Used for the 1st time this morning after hearing of its release yesterday. So far, really good! The 90min transfer is an added perk that I’m glad MTA has brought back (Until recently I traveled daily on the subway, transferring to the light rail which takes less than an hr total, but would be required to pay twice as it wasn’t considered a one way trip). I hope CharmPass never malfunctions bc Baltimore commuters deserved the modernization.