This month, the MBTA announced service, fare and enforcement changes that T-riders should be aware of. Please read the information below to learn more.
- MBTA will begin fare checks beginning September 8. Fare Engagement Representatives will begin issuing formal warnings and citations to riders who have not tapped at a fare gate or farebox. More information is available at mbta.com/FareCheck.
- The MBTA recently announced service changes in September on the Green, Orange, Blue, and Fitchburg lines. Transit Ambassadors and MBTA staff will be available on-site to offer information and assistance during these service changes. Riders are encouraged to subscribe to T-Alerts or to follow the MBTA on X @MBTA, @MBTA_CR, and @MBTA_CR_Alerts for up-to-date service information.
- The MBTA Make Way for Buses Program will use automated enforcement cameras to ticket vehicles illegally blocking bus lanes and bus stops. This program is designed to keep buses moving and improve accessibility. Ticketing in select locations will begin this Fall. View a recording of the public hearing.
- All MBTA subway lines and eight frequent bus routes are now offering extended service on Friday and Saturday. Trip end times for these lines and routes will be about one hour later than current service end times. More information on the MBTA website.
All good news, thanks.
Thanks for keeping us informed.
Well if this doesn’t work, fare evasion will have to become a jailable offense.
Suppose I pay my fare going through a station turnstyle, and a blue-polo-shirt person says I didn’t. How can I prove that I did? Not three months later in court…on the spot, right there in the T station? It’s that blue shirt’s word against mine. Where’s the proof that one of us is not telling the truth? Same question in regard to me allegedly using someone else’s card, or them using mine. And who will have physical or electronic/digital posession of any real evidence? Who will be allowed to have access to that evidence? Where is the detailed study….preferably published in a reputable professional journal… showing that this kind of program to catch/deter fare evaders will not cost the T more than the fare evaders already cost them? I’m not necessarily opposed to such a program. But I’ve learned in the course of a fairly long life to be extremely skeptical about bureaucracies that try to save some nickels and dimes by cracking down on the public, rather than catching some of their own people taking big-bucks bribes. A long time ago I was served a piece of the then-General Manager’s birthday cake, just a few months before he was put on trial and sent to state prison for taking cash under the table. (Actually his successor as the T’s General Manager apparently found the money in an envelope right on top of the guy’s desk, but the customary phrase is “under the table”, so I used that as the default wording.) If safeguards are in place to protect the riding public from abuses, and if it will result in net savings or efficiency for the T, I’m OK with it.
Perhaps the Fare Engagement Representatives should be retitled to be Fare Engagement and Assessment Representatives (FEAR).
Hi Will, thank you for forwarding this information.
I, like many seniors, have a senior MBTA card which has expired, and also have a few older Charlie Cards with credit on them. I would like to get these all straightened out. I’m a bit out of date, with the pandemic, etc. so I would also like to know what the process is for boarding, and what the fares are now, and how to pay on the Commuter Rail. Would it be possible to have a MBTA rep come to our area, give a presentation and register folks for new cards? At one time, these cards could only be obtained at Downtown Crossing (but one has to get there first!).
Thanks again,
Nancy
Thank you for your diligent work to improve public transit in the greater Boston area! Europe and many areas of the United States already used automated traffic enforcement (cameras), which now has a long and successful track record of encouraging compliance and making pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers all safer. I hope use of cameras in bus lanes will help Massachusetts drivers become more comfortable with general use of this important technology.
You have to be kidding me!! I’ve lived my whole life in Boston and taking Public Transportation and never remember it ever running correctly, delays, delays and out of service that’s all I know and I see them announcing them daily on the news. Waverley Sq in Belmont is an absolute disgrace!! It was so horrible 10 years ago they were going to close it but instead extended it 10 years which will be up this coming year. They did absolutely nothing except let it crumble. Never even made it ADA accessible. The MBTA is failing and they forcing us to bail them out with these Communities Act (Unconstitutional). They just want to scam more money. Does sound good but experience says otherwise. Our transportation is shameful to European Transit. Maybe they should consult with Disney regarding a Monorail System as they have many in Europe, they are amazing.
Yes, I’ll remember that when they’re installing them in Belmont. Waverley definitely needs something to prevent more of our residents from getting hit and killed in crosswalks, especially our children and Elementary Students at The Butler. I wonder if they’ll install them at The Belmont Country Club for all the golf carts crossing ? Can you explain to me how camera’s will prevent and make people safer?? It’s a camera not a real person, the camera’s are for after the accident to view, it won’t stop it from happening. They would be helpful in other capacities but not for preventing a tragedy. Where’s the logic/common sense? Just another excuse to get funds to get lost somewhere along the way!!!
Or, hear me out, we could just stop charging fares.
Free the T!
Thanks, Will. This update is helpful.