麻州地擬推低收入票價 即日起接受公眾置評

Making Transit More Affordable: MBTA Proposes Low-Income Fare Program to Benefit Riders in 170+ Communities, Public Comment Now Open

  

Proposed fare changes would also make the $10 Weekend Commuter Rail Pass permanently expanded to include holidays and eliminate change tickets.  

 

Learn more at mbta.com/2024FareChanges.  

  

BOSTON – The MBTA today announced several fare change proposals that aim to improve equity, increase ridership, and simplify fare rules, including the introduction of a reduced fare program for riders with low income, which would provide discounted fares to make public transportation affordable for those who need it most. Building upon the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s FY24 budget that includes $5 million for the MBTA to develop a low-income fares program, the new program would provide riders who are aged 26-64, non-disabled, and have low income with reduced fares of approximately 50% off on all MBTA modes. Program participants will demonstrate eligibility via existing enrollment in programs with a cutoff of 200% of the federal poverty line (or lower). This exciting new program would apply on the Commuter Rail, unlocking affordability for residents along those corridors and in the Gateway Cities, and would apply to the MBTA paratransit customers on the RIDE, cutting the price for ADA trips in half for eligible riders.

 

“We are incredibly excited about this program, which will make a difference in the lives of residents across the state and provide greater affordability, opportunity, and access to all MBTA service for residents as they travel throughout the week,” said Massachusetts Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “This underscores the bold vision and commitment of the Healey-Driscoll Administration to deliver equitable, reliable, and resilient transportation in a big way.”

 

“I’m thankful for the Governor and Legislature for the funding that allowed us to develop this proposed new reduced fare eligibility for riders with low income. As we rebuild and restore MBTA service, we are also focused on making fares more affordable, improving quality of life, boosting economic mobility across the entire MBTA service area, and encouraging more riders to return to the system following the pandemic,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “As we offer these proposed fare changes for consideration, ensuring robust public engagement is imperative, and I hope riders will join the T at any of the eight upcoming public meetings to share their thoughts on these proposals. We welcome the public’s feedback.”

 

If approved by the MBTA Board of Directors, these fare changes would go into effect in spring and summer 2024.

 

The MBTA estimates the cost of the program to be approximately $52-62 million (including administrative costs, operating costs to meet induced demand, and fare revenue loss). According to prior research, riders with low income would be expected to take 30% more trips with a reduced fare, significantly increasing mobility while saving on transportation costs. More than 60,000 riders are expected to qualify for and enroll in the program, which is expected to result in 7 million more trips per year.

 

The MBTA welcomes public comment on these proposals at eight public meetings to be held in January and February 2024. More information on each public meeting is available at mbta.com/events. The public is also welcome to submit comments online through Thursday, February 29, 2024, or by email to publicengagement@mbta.com. 

 

The proposed program for riders with low income is a multi-secretariat effort with the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV). Existing MBTA reduced fare programs already provide support to students, seniors, riders with disabilities, and young people aged 18-25 with low income. These programs provide half-priced fares and passes on all modes (excluding the RIDE). 

 

To make the program further accessible throughout Massachusetts communities, the MBTA will partner with third-party Community-Based Partners to manage in-person customer service and eligibility verification. These efforts include providing physical in-person locations where people can receive support with their applications and offering additional support whenever automatic systems are unable to successfully process applications. A Request for Proposals to select one or more Community-Based Partners was released yesterday, January 24.  

 

Two additional proposed fare changes include: 

  

·       Replacing “Change Tickets” with CharlieCards: The issuance of paper CharlieTickets with stored value as change (a “Change Ticket”) will be phased out. This is due to limitations in the fare collection technology. Riders are encouraged to load stored value on plastic CharlieCards. 

·       Permanently expanding the $10 Weekend Commuter Rail Pass to include federal holidays: The $10 Weekend Commuter Rail Pass would include federal holidays. This pass allows for unlimited Commuter Rail trips on all three days of federal holiday weekends. For federal holidays that are observed mid-week, passengers can purchase a $10 Holiday Pass for that day. 

The Title VI analysis, which assesses whether a proposed transportation project or service will have a disparate impact on minority populations or a disproportionate burden on low-income populations, will be shared with the MBTA Board of Directors and posted to mbta.com prior to the scheduled March 2024 Board meeting. This analysis is required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for all projects that receive federal funding.