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Free and easy on the Blue Line
By adamg on Wed, 07/05/2023 - 8:08am
Your money's no good on the Blue Line, at least through Aug. 31.
With the Sumner Tunnel now shut for the next two months, the Blue Line is now free, as Donna shows us at Orient Heights. Kind of makes you wonder if freeing the T might be a way for the state to reduce congestion and carbon emissions on Boston-area roads, although that would probably require a fully functional T system.
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Comments
Gov Center and State?
Are they also no fare?
Note: This isn't a rhetorical question. Are the fare gates into Government Center being left open?
I assume so
Which means that the Green and Orange lines are free Downtown if you're willing to walk a few blocks.
Speaking of Government Center,
Why is most of the eastbound (northbound) Green Line platform, including the down escalator and one of the two stairways from the concourse, closed off? It’s been that way since before the 24/7 Government Center to North Station closure was in place.
I am a Blue Line guy - what
I am a Blue Line guy - what what a difference in how the T handled the Sumner closing and how the T handled closing the Green Line extension.
It's supposed to be one org, it's unsettling. Maybe everything is political and Somerville got rolled?
we even got a ferry
we even got a ferry
Logan Airport
The common denominator is that the people going to and from Logan Airport - the busiest in New England - don't want to be caught up in traffic and miss expensive flights. Hence the MBTA and the state are going out of their way to prevent any gum-ups.
Are they somehow charging if
Are they somehow charging if you try to transfer from the Blue line to Orange or Green at State or GovtCenter?
The T is free!
As long as you practice parkour when hopping over the faregates.
I'm happy they are doing this
I'm happy they are doing this but over here in Chelsea they also need to increase the number of bus runs. The 111 is already chaotic and will be even more so with free fares. I'm not saying they shouldn't do it but they need to do more.
They need to increase the number of 111 and possibly 116 and 117 bus runs. Offering it for free is meaningless if they are already at capacity. They need to increase capacity.
Also, this is crucial and it's crazy they don't ever listen to the suggestion, they need to create a unified line at Haymarket. Literally with stations in the ground or at the very least painted lines on the ground. Then the bus drivers need to always line up with it. It's better than it used to be but anyone who has ever tried to get on the 111 at Haymarket will tell you it's always a struggle. The buses never stop in the same spot and it's not clear where the line is. They seem to have a monitor there all the time but they don't seem to do much. I took a midnight bus last week that was packed and even with a monitor people came in the back and the driver had to yell at them. It's a stressful route for everyone involved, the MBTA could fix that for their riders and employees with a little forethought.
North Station and Government Center
I'm not a a daily Green Line rider, but had to travel to/from both North Station and Government Center during the Haymarket closures/bypass period. Both stations had open gates so my return trips were free.
The $2,000,000,000 Fare Modernization Fiasco
The T calls it “AFC 2.0” - their second-generation automated fare collection project. Already more than five years behind schedule and with a total program cost well over TWO BILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS, this idiotic boondoggle is a sterling example of the absolute hatred for poor people that permeates State government. Add to that $2 Billion the cost of administering “means-tested” fare assistance programs, senior and student discounts, plus the staff devoted to fare collection & processing, and you will understand that no one on Beacon Hill is actually interested in providing a public service.
Don’t forget that Massachusetts cut the Red-Blue connector and the North-South Rail Link from the Big Dig because those projects were “too expensive” - although the total cost of both projects combined was far less than the $18 billion *overruns* on a massive auto-centric highway & tunnel project.
Absolutely infuriating. We’re literally burning our way to mass extinction. Time to raise fares on the T, I guess!