Fares Overview | MBTA (2024)

FAQs

How much does the MBTA collect in fares? ›

In the second quarter alone, the MBTA collected $94.3 million in fare revenue — far below the $179.4 million generated during the same period in fiscal year 2020 for a total difference of $85 million.

If you don't have a CharlieCard, you can also pay your fare with: Contactless payment by tapping your contactless debit/credit card, phone, or watch with a mobile wallet on bus and subway.

People 65 and older are eligible for reduced MBTA fares with a Senior CharlieCard. People with disabilities and Medicare cardholders are eligible for reduced MBTA fares with a Transportation Access Pass (TAP) CharlieCard.

Passes purchased at ticket windows or fare vending machines are also valid for travel on the subway and bus. Monthly passes in the mTicket app cost $10 less than those purchased at ticket windows and fare vending machines, but they are only valid for travel on the Commuter Rail.

Who Rides for Free? Children age 11 and under ride the MBTA for free.

Active-duty military personnel ride all MBTA services for free. If in plainclothes, please present a valid military ID to MBTA staff. If in uniform, no identification is necessary.

For now, tapping on for multiple riders with one pass remains legitimate across much of the MBTA so long as the card has enough value to cover each person pending approval and implementation of the updated policy.

The long-awaited "tap and ride" system for the MBTA will eliminate the need for a Charlie Card and officials expect it to be fully functional by 2026. Forgot your Charlie Card? No problem. The MBTA installed equipment for its new Automated Fare Collection 2.0 technology to begin use this summer, on August 1.

CharlieCards are hard plastic reusable cards that serve as a convenient way to pay bus and subway fares. Value can be reloaded with cash or credit card at the fare machines at all subway stations. CharlieTickets resemble a regular ticket and can be reloaded up to 18 months after the purchase date.

Normal retirement is at age 65. We calculate your retirement allowance using the following formula: The three-year average (3YA) of your highest three years of pensionable earnings. Multiplied by your age multiplier.

What is the train discount for seniors? ›

Details. With a Senior Railcard anyone 60 years or over can save 1/3 on all Standard and First Class, Anytime, Off-Peak and Advance fares for £30. Take a look at all the ticket types you can make savings on with a Senior Railcard. There are plenty of ways you can use your Railcard, for both long and short trips.

CharlieCards distributed later had expiration dates printed on them and are valid for ten years, with the exception of Student CharlieCards which expire at the end of the school year they are issued.

With the $10 Weekend Pass, you get unlimited rides across all Commuter Rail lines throughout Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. You'll have the freedom to explore multiple stops, lines, and attractions, so you can travel as much or as little as you please for only $10.

Food and drink must remain in closed containers. Please be considerate and avoid eating or drinking on MBTA vehicles and in stations. Food and drink must remain in closed containers.

Service on routes 23, 28, and 29 will be fare free for four years from March 1, 2022 through February 28, 2026. This program is funded by the City of Boston. These routes travel through Roxbury and Dorchester, connecting riders to four stations: Ruggles, Jackson Square, Mattapan, and Ashmont.

The MBTA Board on Tuesday also unanimously approved a five-year, $9.6 billion capital investment plan outlining maintenance, modernization and expansion projects for fiscal years 2025 through 2029. Officials update that plan every year, and the latest one features $843 million in new funding compared to last year.

The balance of the T operating budget is funded by fare revenues (about one third of the entire budget came from fares before the pandemic), annual contributions from the state and from municipalities via a local assessment (Boston pays about $90 million a year to support the T), and from what's called “own source” ...

In the United States, California ranks seventh for farebox-recovery ratio, at 27.9% (behind New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Massachusetts).

All told, the MBTA had annual operating expenses of $434 million for its buses, just over $10 million for ferries and $941 million for all its rail services. Data from 2017 indicate that relative to fares collected, most MBTA services are operating at a loss—although this is common across many other US transit systems.