A possible MBTA fare increase would see ticket prices jump starting in July. (Courtesy file photograph/MBTA)
Seeking to contain its budget deficit in the face of rising expenses, the MBTA on Monday announced a proposal to raise the price of bus, subway and commuter rail rides by an average of 6.3 percent beginning July 1 in order to raise more than $32 million in new annual revenue.
According to the State House News Service, the proposal, which is open for public input and must be approved by the Fiscal and Management Control Board, would see the CharlieCard price of a bus ride increase by 10 cents to $1.80, the price of a subway trip climb by 15 cents to $2.40 and the price of a monthly link pass, which allows unlimited subway and bus trips, rise $5.50 to $90 per month.
MBTA officials said the proposed increases would be the first time in three years that MBTA fares have gone up and that the increases for all fare types will be less than seven percent. By law, the T can’t raise any fare by more than seven percent, nor can it raise fares more than once every two years.
Transit officials have said the T’s modeling forecasts a 1.3 percent overall drop in annual ridership if the fare increases take effect.
The MBTA opened a public comment period on its proposed new fares Monday and will accept input from the public through the end of the month. A vote on the fare increase is expected in March.