Overview
- Governor Maura Healey and the MBTA announced on Tuesday that the 50 percent discount on monthly Commuter Rail passes will continue through November and that the $1 weekend companion fare for monthly pass holders is extended for the same period.
- Starting Sept. 1 the T will pilot an expanded two-hour “unlimited” transfer window that lets riders make multiple bus, subway, or ferry transfers while paying only the highest fare in that two-hour period if they use the same form of payment.
- Also beginning Sept. 1 the MBTA will run a pilot to remove higher express-bus fares on seven routes so riders pay the local bus fare of $1.70 full or $0.85 reduced; the Silver Line SL1/2/3 and W routes are excluded.
- A car-free seniors pilot will give free MBTA fares to Massachusetts residents aged 75 and older who no longer drive, with the start date to be announced later this fall.
- Officials point to strong summer results—monthly pass sales rose as much as 200 percent and Commuter Rail Friday ridership climbed about 50 percent—but the total cost of the fall extensions and pilots is not yet clear and could affect the T’s $3.2 billion budget.