Boston MBTA Fares
Ron Newman
Bill Kindel <kin...@ghoti.osf.org> wrote:
>> Could someone post the "T" fare schedule?
>
> Ask and ye shall receive:
>
> Bus Fares
> Local Routes $ .60
> Zoned Routes $ .85 to $2.00 one-way
Are there any 85-cent zones? I think the lowest zone fare
is $1.00 .
> Express Routes $2.00 to $2.25 one-way
I think that the express bus from Watertown to Copley is
less than this.... $1.50?
> Rapid Transit (subway, LRT)
> Base Fare $ .85 (except as below)
> Red Line:
> Quincy Adams & Braintree $1.70* inbound; .85 at exit outbound
Also, at Quincy Center, you have to pay $1.70 inbound, but there is no
exit fare outbound.
> Ashmont-Mattapan (PCC) $ .60 inbound for local trips only
Except if you get off at the last stop, Ashmont, then you don't
have to pay anything. In practice I have *never* seen a driver
collect this fare from anyone, no matter where they got off!
> Green Line (LRT):
> "B" & "C" on surface $ .85 inbound; FREE outbound
> "D" Fenway-Reservoir $1.00 inbound; FREE outbound
> "D" west of Reservoir $2.00** inbound; FREE outbound
> "E" west of Prudential $ .85 inbound; FREE outbound
No, that should be "E" west of Symphony, not Prudential.
Roland Bassett
True. However, it used to be "E" west of Prudential, even though the
fare sign said it was after Symphony. They started enforcing the
collecting of fares at Symphony outbound last year sometime (about the
same time as they cracked down on rules violations by the drivers, and
some drivers protested by driving 5 mph).
RLB
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Roland Bassett SDAC, Harvard School of Public Health
rol...@sdac.harvard.edu Phone: +1 617 432 0040 FAX: +1 617 432 2832
David Grabiner
> In article <KINDEL.95J...@ghoti.osf.org>,
> Bill Kindel <kin...@ghoti.osf.org> wrote:
>>> Could someone post the "T" fare schedule?
>>
>> Ask and ye shall receive:
>>
>> Bus Fares
>> Local Routes $ .60
>> Zoned Routes $ .85 to $2.00 one-way
> Are there any 85-cent zones? I think the lowest zone fare
> is $1.00 .
At one time, the North Shore schedules listed a fare of 85 cents for
two-zone trips (Lynn to Salem, for example); I think it has now been
eliminated. (I never rode any of those buses exactly two zones, so I
don't know whether drivers enforced it.) On all other buses, the fare
is 60 cents for one or two zones, $1.00 for three (Alewife to beyond
Route 128), and I beliveve another 25 cents for each additional zone.
>> Express Routes $2.00 to $2.25 one-way
> I think that the express bus from Watertown to Copley is
> less than this.... $1.50?
$1.50 for all short express buses (Watertown, Newton Corner, Brighton,
Medford, Saugus), $2.00 for Lynn, $2.25 for long express buses
(Riverside, Waltham, Burlington, Woburn, North Shore beyond Lynn), and
$2.50 for Danvers.
--
David Grabiner, grab...@math.harvard.edu
I don't speak for Harvard, or any other organization that speaks for itself.
Shop at the Mobius Strip Mall: Always on the same side of the street!
Klein Glassworks, Torus Coffee and Donuts, Projective Airlines, etc.
Ron Newman
grab...@math.harvard.edu (David Grabiner) wrote:
> >> Zoned Routes $ .85 to $2.00 one-way
>
> > Are there any 85-cent zones? I think the lowest zone fare
> > is $1.00 .
>
> At one time, the North Shore schedules listed a fare of 85 cents for
> two-zone trips (Lynn to Salem, for example); I think it has now been
> eliminated.
Looks like it; the current #455 schedule shows a 60 cent fare between
these two points. All of the various fares on this route are
either 60 cents, $1, $1.50, $2, or $2.25 . The same goes for
the 441/442 (Marblehead-Haymarket) route.
> $1.50 for all short express buses (Watertown, Newton Corner, Brighton,
> Medford, Saugus), $2.00 for Lynn, $2.25 for long express buses
> (Riverside, Waltham, Burlington, Woburn, North Shore beyond Lynn), and
> $2.50 for Danvers.
I didn't realize the T even went to Danvers, or that there were
any $2.50 routes. That would mean that this bus route is not fully
covered by a Zone 2 pass. Is it the only one with this fare?
--
Ron Newman rne...@cybercom.net
Web: http://www.cybercom.net/~rnewman/home.html
Ron Newman
bet...@northshore.shore.net (Betsy Schwartz) wrote:
> It's been a while but I *think* there might be an .85c zone on the
> bus that goes from Central Square Cambridge to Waltham Center...?
Before the last fare increase, when normal bus fare was 50 cents,
the #70 (Waltham-Cambridge) bus had a zone system, and it cost 75 cents
to ride from one end to the other.
When the base bus fare went up to 60 cents, the MBTA eliminated the
zone system on the #70 and several other bus routes. So the fare
for a long ride actually went *down*, from 75c to 60c.
Betsy Schwartz
David Grabiner
> In article <BETSYS.95J...@northshore.shore.net>,
> bet...@northshore.shore.net (Betsy Schwartz) wrote:
>> It's been a while but I *think* there might be an .85c zone on the
>> bus that goes from Central Square Cambridge to Waltham Center...?
> Before the last fare increase, when normal bus fare was 50 cents,
> the #70 (Waltham-Cambridge) bus had a zone system, and it cost 75 cents
> to ride from one end to the other.
> When the base bus fare went up to 60 cents, the MBTA eliminated the
> zone system on the #70 and several other bus routes. So the fare
> for a long ride actually went *down*, from 75c to 60c.
Essentially, what happened is that the MBTA eliminated the two-zone
fare with the last increase. This had the effect of simplifying the
fare structure; in particular, it eliminated the zones entirely on many
buses. There's still a sign at the Watertown/Waltham line which says
"Fare Zone", but it doesn't affect the fare.
Ron Newman
(Bill Kindel) wrote:
> Red Line:
> Quincy Center $1.70* inbound; FREE outbound
There is no exit fare if you want to leave the Red Line at
Quincy Center (unlike Quincy Adams or Braintree, where there
is a .85 exit fare). But you don't get a free ride from Quincy
Center outbound to Quincy Adams or Braintree.
How *does* the MBTA arrange to collect a correct fare between
these points, anyway? Unless there is some special arrangement,
the ride would cost $2.55! ($1.70 to enter at Quincy Center,
$0.85 to exit further south).
Dave Snowden
rne...@cybercom.net says...
>There is no exit fare if you want to leave the Red Line at
>Quincy Center (unlike Quincy Adams or Braintree, where there
>is a .85 exit fare). But you don't get a free ride from Quincy
>Center outbound to Quincy Adams or Braintree.
>
>How *does* the MBTA arrange to collect a correct fare between
>these points, anyway? Unless there is some special arrangement,
>the ride would cost $2.55! ($1.70 to enter at Quincy Center,
>$0.85 to exit further south).
A passenger would pay the fare at the turnstile and request a "fare
receipt" (or whatever it is called) from the booth ticket agent. The
passenger would then present this ticket/fare receipt at the exiting
station and would then either receive a refund of the over-payment or
would receive a FREE ticket for the reutrn/next ride!!!
This was done on the Riverside line. An inbound passenger boarding
anywhere from Riverside to the station before Reservoir would pay the
full fare in the fare box and request a transfer/fare receipt for the
operator or conductor. Upon alighting before Reservoir, the passenger
would surrender the transfer/fare receipt and would receive the
difference in the fare.
The United Electric Railways and it's follower, the United Transit Co.,
in Providence had a similar system on the route 99A/99B
Providence-Pawtucket lines back before "Pay As You Enter" days. When you
boarded in Providence, both doors would be used and you would PAY AS YOU
LEAVE. When the bus crossed the city line, any boarding passengers would
pay their fare to the operator and receive a "ZONE 2 IDENTIFICATION
CHECK' which was wider, but shorter than a transfer and had the date
printed on it. In Pawtucket you paid as you left the bus. If you did not
present to Zone Check, you paid the full fare.
When boarding in Pawtucket you paid your fare as you left. If you boarded
in Providence, you paid a 1 zone fare and received a "ZONE 2
IDENTIFICATION CHECK" and surrendered it when you left the bus. Sometimes
when there was a large crowd on the bus, the Starter/Inspector at
Exchange Place would collect the Zone Check at the rear door, thus
speeding up the process.
Before 1953, several trolley bus runs were EXPRESS to the City Line.
There was no express wires, so they would be scheduled ahead of several
locals. They used trolley busses that had rear treadles. The passenger
would pay the Zone 2 Fare on boarding in Providence and they were able to
leave via the rear exit door in Pawtucket while the driver collected the
Pawtucket local fare. I heard about this from an operator many years ago,
but I have not read about it in the several books about Rhode Island.
Mark N Katz
: full fare in the fare box and request a transfer/fare receipt for the
: operator or conductor. Upon alighting before Reservoir, the passenger
: would surrender the transfer/fare receipt and would receive the
It works a little differently now. If you pay full fare when you get on
inbound (full fare meaning $2.00, a pass or a pass/cash combo), and if
get off within Newton (up to Chestnut Hill), then you can request a
Newton Pass. This assumes the driver actually has a supply - not always
a good assumption. Then, this pass can be turned in with $.90 cash or a
local bus (60 cent) pass on your next inbound trip where that combo now
represents a full fare and can be used to go in town. In theory, you can't
get another pass when you exit in Newton again (after having used one to
enter) but the rules aren't very clear. The net effect for short trip
commuters is a discount every other trip.