BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s on-again, off-again trial of $10 weekend commuter-train tickets has been made permanent.
The weekend fares, for unlimited Saturday and Sunday travel, were made permanent as part of a fare increase that went into effect on July 1, despite some protests across the MBTA system. [See “Elected officials join protests over MBTA fare hikes,” Trains News Wire, July 2, 2019.]
The MBTA has introduced the fare on a trial basis in June 2018 It discontinued it that December, citing a federal rule on analysis of fare equity, then restored the discount in January 2019. [See “MBTA’s $10 weekend fare to return,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 3, 2019.]
This is something in the way of an apology to the T’s riders. It could work out if they could boost weekend ridership to a point where they could get extra revenue.