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We're proposing changes to our fare policies to support Fare Transformation:

• Ending passbacks: We’re discontinuing the ability to tap multiple riders through a gate with one card (“passback”). This will allow us to introduce mobile and contactless payments and integrate the Commuter Rail without creating pricing errors.
• Fare media per rider: Riders aged 12 and older will need to have their own fare media to provide proof of payment and to ensure there are no duplicate charges at fare gates and on fare readers.
• “One more trip” protection on Charlie Cards: The new fare media will allow riders to board with low/zero balance to improve convenience and avoid leaving riders stranded.
• $3 Fare media fee and free card distribution: There will be a $3 card cost per new Charlie Card and Mobile Charlie Card, with some exceptions. *

*We recognize that the new card cost may be a burden for some riders, and we are currently developing a plan to distribute free Charlie Cards to minority and low-income communities through partner organizations. Cards will continue to be free to Reduced Fare Riders and for all riders purchasing a 1-Day Link Pass on a new Charlie Card.

Learn more about the fare media changes

We held public meetings in March 2022 to discuss these changes. You can continue to provide feedback by sending comments to publicengagement@mbta.com.

In the future, riders will be able to purchase their fares and passes online, via their smartphones, and with contactless credit/debit cards. And though we’re removing fare boxes from vehicles, we’re preserving the ability to pay in cash by introducing more places to load cash onto your Charlie Card than ever before:

• A larger, more robust network of retailers
• Updated in-station fare vending machines that dispense Charlie Cards
• New streetscape fare vending machines at bus stops and Green Line stations

We recently conducted a sales network analysis to identify where we should add new sales locations and what those locations should offer (for example, a fare vending machine versus a retailer).

Now, we need your help to make sure our analysis didn’t miss any critical locations. As part of this outreach process, we’re collecting feedback and suggestions from riders about the retail locations we’re proposing.

See proposed sales locations

We’re installing new readers at every door on Green Line trolleys and buses. This will allow customers to board at every door, but it also means the trolley or bus driver cannot check that everyone pays their fare.

Our solution for fare verification in our new system is to have MBTA employees board vehicles at random and ask everyone to tap their card or phone on a handheld device to verify their payment. However, as we begin this policy, we want to make sure that it’s done in an equitable and efficient way.

Learn more about this new policy

In January 2021, Governor Baker signed a law decriminalizing fare evasion on the T. Violators will instead be issued a non-criminal citation with a fine proportionate to the nature of the offense. The law also gave the MBTA the regulatory authority to set fine levels.

With this new authority, the MBTA is proposing a new regulation to decrease fine levels. Riders can review and provide feedback on our proposed regulations before they are finalized.

We held a virtual public hearing about this proposal on April 15, 2021. You can view a recording of the hearing below and submit comments by emailing us at fareregulations@mbta.com.

Watch the virtual public hearing

Our new payment system will introduce a lot of new technology, which means we’ll be able to collect more data about our riders to help us make better decisions.

Any data we collect will be for a specific purpose, and kept only as long as it serves that purpose. Some data may be aggregated to remove any personal information and shared with groups or universities that use it for research purposes.

More data means more responsibility—and we’re committed to maintaining our riders’ privacy. So, we’re rewriting our current Privacy Policy to be more representative of our modern transit system and to better protect riders. As we write it, we need your feedback to help us understand your concerns and how these policies impact you.

1. We gather initial customer feedback in focus groups and demos.
2. We incorporate that feedback into the system design and requirements.
3. We work with a professional usability testing agency to create a list of actions riders will need to perform when they use the system in the real world.
4. We ask a diverse group of participants to perform those actions as they would in real life.
5. Researchers, project teams, and MBTA stakeholders observe those tests, note any problems, and produce a test report with our findings.
6. We use the reports to develop a usability improvement plan.
7. We improve the design based on our findings and analysis.
8. If the changes are significant, we test again.

Our user testing participants should be representative of real MBTA riders. This means we recruit customers who represent diversity in:

• Race
• Geography
• Socio-economic status
• Education level
• Age
• Language
• Ability
• MBTA use (frequency and mode of transit)
• Preferred payment method (cash, credit/debit card, Charlie Ticket, Charlie Card)

We also do user testing with staff who need to use the new system as part of their jobs.

We perform user tests on all new hardware and software. Based on previous user testing, we’ve already made some changes to our initial designs:

• Riders expect screens to always be touch screens, so we modified our designs so every fare vending machine features a touch screen.
• Some riders were confused by the online registration process, so we clarified the wording and design of the screens so they could better understand their options.
• Some riders had a hard time grabbing their card and receipt in the initial machine design, so we raised the height of the ticket tray and adjusted a spring on the door so it would open wider.

These are just a few examples of how we’ve incorporated feedback from user testing into our designs. User testing is one of the best ways we can make sure that we’re designing and building a system that makes your experience on the T better.