Thursday, 4:30 PM
Free rides to end
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff
For decades, T riders in the western suburbs have taken advantage of free outbound trips on the Green Line, if they boarded at an above-ground station.
But those free rides home, especially for thousands of fans after Red Sox games, end Monday with a fare increase that also gets rid of a bevy of historical MBTA fare anomalies, which also include exit fares at some Red Line stations.
T officials say the overhaul will make the fares fairer equitable for all riders. "If you get on the train, you should know that it’s $1.70, and it’s the same as if you’re on the Red, Green, Orange, Blue, or Silver Line," Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said Thursday. "It’s a simplification of the system."
For longtime commuters, however, the free ride home is a perk they have enjoyed for as long as they can remember, and one they will give up grudgingly.
Some are worried less about the price increase and more about longer boarding times.
"I think I’ll be more concerned with how much it slows down the outbound trains in the afternoon and evening," said Catherine Berkey, a researcher at Harvard Medical School who has taken the Riverside branch for years. "At times, it’s a terribly slow ride getting home."
The success of the new boarding system will depend largely on how quickly riders adapt to the system at above-ground stations, inbound and outbound.
In fliers being distributed on the Green Line this morning, the T offers a primer: Riders paying with cash should board at the front door and will be issued a receipt as proof of payment. Pass holders can enter at any door, but are encouraged to use the middle door, where passes will be scanned by a conductor holding a handheld validator. The T has 30 of the machines thus far, and expects to have a total of 50 by next month.
On the D Line, riders are encouraged to tap their automated-fare CharlieCard or to insert their CharlieTicket into "validator" machines at station platforms, and to get a receipt to show while boarding at the middle doors.
