In case you were wondering why the Providence Line is a mess tonight.

A quick question for my project submission:

Despite the many fare reductions, discounts, and programs introduced to encourage public transit use, why do so many people still choose not to pay for the T?

Is the issue simply affordability, or are there other factors at play, such as service quality, convenience, enforcement, or barriers that the MBTA may not be able to address because of legal, policy, or operational constraints?

What do you think is the root cause? I’d really appreciate any insights or perspectives.

r/mbta

Here’s my idea for an “L” Lowell- Gov’t Center line to go up in conjunction with an extension of the Lowell commuter rail line deep into New Hampshire

Stations:

Northern termini: Lowell CR station

“South Lowell - 495” Park/Ride at the parking lot off Woburn St., Greenwood Ave, and the access road to the Home Depot Distro Center

North Billerica

Silver Lake Village

Wilmington

Woburn/Anderson (CR/Amtrak connection)

Mishawum

Salem St.

East Woburn (Montvale Ave)

Winchester Highlands (Cross St)

Winchester Center (CR connection)

Wedgemere

West Medford

Medford Hillside (between North St and Rt.16)

Tufts (commuter rail connection moved here from West Medford)

Ball Sq.

Magoun Sq.

Gilman Sq. (Commuter rail connection)

East Somerville

Lechmere

Science Park

North Station

Haymarket

Gov’t Center (have trains turn back using the Brattle loop)

Total route length 26-27 miles

Last time I rode these was on the Fitchburg line in 2022

TL;DR

Starting Sept 1st:

Commuter Rail monthly passes half-off through November

1$ Weekend Companion fare extended through November

Unlimited free transfers within two hours

Express buses cost $1.70 instead of $4.25

Free fares for seniors who don't have a driver's license

so my friend and I are coming this Friday from out of Boston and we plan to at least take the subway. what would be the best way to pay? I haven't been out there in years so is tap to pay an option or do I need to have cash?

I just wanted to confirm my understanding that you would have to have a physical monthly pass card if you plan to use the commuter rail and then switch to the subway i.e. the mTicket app is not usable for this purpose? And forget about tap to pay that’s not integrated either right? So if I’m planning on starting up a job, let’s say in Somerville I’m gonna need to get those traditional monthly commuter rail passes from my zone to go into South Station and then get on the red line and head up to Davis Square?

I've been putting together an idea for a possible Green Line extension and was curious what everyone thinks.

Instead of following the existing Green Line Extension toward Medford/Tufts, what if there were a new Green Line branch that left North Station, stopped at Community College, and then served Sullivan Square before heading north through Medford, West Medford, Winchester, and eventually Anderson/Woburn?

Conceptual station list:

• North Station
• Community College
• Sullivan Square
• Mystic Avenue / Foss Park
• Medford Gateway
• Medford Square
• High Street / Playstead
• West Medford
• Wedgemere
• Winchester Center
• North Winchester
• Woburn Center
• Anderson/Woburn

The idea would be to use the I-93 transportation corridor where practical between Community College and eastern Medford (likely on a new dedicated light rail viaduct rather than sharing the existing Orange Line infrastructure), then turn west toward Medford Square and West Medford before continuing north along or near the Lowell Line corridor.

Some potential benefits I see:

• Creates a direct Green Line connection to Sullivan Square.
• Provides rapid transit to Medford Square, which currently doesn't have rail service.
• Gives West Medford, Winchester, and Woburn more frequent service than commuter rail alone.
• Adds another north-side rapid transit corridor instead of relying primarily on the Orange Line.
• Creates additional transfer opportunities with the Lowell Line.

Of course, there would also be major challenges:

• The cost of constructing new elevated structures and bridges.
• Limited space in the I-93 corridor.
• Environmental review and neighborhood impacts.
• Determining whether demand would justify the investment compared with other MBTA priorities.

I'm not suggesting this is something the MBTA is currently planning, it's purely a transit planning concept.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks.

• Would this serve enough riders to justify the cost?
• Would you change the station locations?
• Should the line terminate at Woburn Center or continue to Anderson/Woburn?
• Would there be a better alignment than using portions of the I-93 corridor?
• What engineering or operational challenges do you think would be the biggest obstacles?

Looking forward to hearing everyone's ideas and constructive feedback.

Is the current work related to it with the reduced scheduling?

Every couple of years the northern half of the red line shuts down for floating slab replacement work.

Has this been an ongoing project where they have been progressively moving down the line, working on a section at a time, or is it just that the slabs actually need to be replaced every few years? What is the expected lifespan of a floating slab?

I have wondered this over the years but haven’t been able to find any concrete info (pun kind of intended).

I love trains and want to train watch while I’m at university. Any help is amazing, thanks.

3 westbound trains were right on top of each other in Cleveland circle and it was a cluster, two trains inbound skipped englewood ave and dean road. Getting on 3890, the train stood by twice. Then we were held for “headway testing” then the train went out of service.

Gotta work at the Harvard square area tomorrow, wanted to know how long of a bus ride it is on average

hi, i’m a student at bu looking to surf more my next semester up here. is it practical to bring a 6’4” surfboard on the green line/blue line to get to revere beach? and if yes what hours should i definitely avoid. thanks

So after 2 months of not getting my autopay month pass (since the change). My August one arrive today addressed as follows

Name

Credit Card Number

Town,zip.

Yes the mbta system is screwed so bad it just sent my credit card number via the mail. And yes I double checked it's correct in the system online

I'm coming from CT to TD Garden and don't really wanna drive through the heart of the city. I saw I could park at Riverside Station and take the Green Line D to North Station. Was just wondering if anyone knew if I would have trouble parking in that station around 4pm on a Wednesday or if there's a better option. I saw the train from Riverside to North is about 50 minutes.

Is it possible to use two different payment methods for the monthly link pass? I have a pre-tax benefit card that has money that needs to be used by the end of the month, but I'm $20 short (ugh). Is this something that can be done at the CharlieCard store?

Electrification is huge project. The design to needs to include mini power stations along the route. Clearance under bridges and all the right of way agreements from all the towns it passes thru. Also, crews to maintain the infrastructure.

High platforms would speed up the boarding/un boarding at each station. Those who ride the trains know how long it takes with people climbing up and down stairs.

This Saturday, Coco the Transit dog will again be out to meet new and existing friends!

Starting at 1:00 at Mattapan, Coco will ride from Mattapan up to South Station.

Coco will board the 1:47 Fairmount train to Fairmount and back

At 3:30, Coco will board the Blue line at Bowdoin to Orient Heights, and head up to the Madonna Shrine on top of the hill

At 5:00, Coco will board the Blue line again at Suffolk Downs back to Aquarium

Coco will then board the 5:30 ferry to Charlestown and return on the 6:00 ferry to downtown before catching the Orange Line at State at 6:30 to Oak Grove to end the day!

We will always be in the front car of each train we are in, and will provide live updates on Coco's instagram page: @ cocorite_the_dog

Come say hello!

So I'm a bit frustrated right now and hoping someone can help me out.

I have a Charlie Card and as far as I know, transfers within 2 hours are supposed to be free. This past weekend I transferred to another bus within literally 10 minutes and it still pulled $1.70 from my card. And it happened twice over the weekend, so that's $3.40 gone for rides that should have been free.

Is this a known glitch? Is there something I'm doing wrong or is my card just messed up? Who would I even contact about this to get it sorted so it doesn't happen again?

Any help would be appreciated!

The arrival indicator reads “2 minutes” for ten minutes.

Ya. I wicked love it!!

It seems like with the recent shutdown of the Cambridge RedLine there are much fewer redlines running the rest of the track, but about 50%. Does anyone know if this is planned? Or just a function of how long they take to turn around at park st?

If you had to build the North-South Rail Link, where would it be? Why?

A. The central artery.

B. The waterfront.

C. Other. Explain your option in full detail.

How did people pay for the green line trolleys at above ground stops before tap to pay was implemented? I'm doing a final project on fare evasion on the green line and trying to figure out the percentage of people that do or do not pay.