Submitted by GlobeOpinion t3_10q1a74 in boston
russianteadrinker t1_j6ngpdc wrote
i think we need to ask why the commuter rail fares are so poorly scaled to begin with
why tf is the fare to get from Zone 1A to Zone 1 $6.50 and the fare to get from zone 1 to zone 8 $6.25
its cheaper from someone in hyde park to get to providence than forest hills. make it make sense.
giritrobbins t1_j6ogsta wrote
To a degree I understand it. If you incentivize someone from further not driving that makes life easier for everyone in between (e.g. one less driver).
Though as someone who lives next to the WR CR stop, I will never take the CR unless I have a weekend pass or work is paying for it. Even if it was 4 dollars I'd do it more often.
russianteadrinker t1_j6oijl4 wrote
i take the commuter rail because i have to but commuting from zone 1 and commuting to zone 1A is needlessly expensive. Scaling the zone 1 fare down to, say, $4.25 to mimic express buses would save a zone 1 commuter without a monthly pass about $100 a month (or probably about $50 if they scaled the pass down the same way). For a lot of T users $600-1200 a year in savings is substantial, not to mention if they also scaled down the rest of the zone fares. That would also make the commuter rail a much more attractive option compared to driving, particularly if you take the mass pike which has tolls.
oneMadRssn t1_j6olsms wrote
Those single ride fares seems fine to me. We should incentivize people that live further away to use it.
The monthly pass costs make no sense though. Someone going to Zone 1 needs to pay only $214, but someone going to Zone 8 needs to pay $388. If the difference in single fare is only 4%, why is the difference in monthly pass a whopping 81%?
borissjodin t1_j6oqct8 wrote
The single fare for 1A->1 is 6.50, for 1A->8 is 12.25 - I don't know where the 4% figure came from but the month pass seems proportionally more expensive
oneMadRssn t1_j6osser wrote
I was just using the other dudes numbers above.
russianteadrinker t1_j6opctu wrote
youre comparing zone 1 and zone 8 whereas im comparing zone 1 and interzone 8
BigHmmEnergy t1_j6opnfp wrote
Because there’s a $4 surcharge for getting off at a Zone 1A station. Eliminating that would be a good step forward
johnniewelker t1_j6oydde wrote
Hyde park to Forest hills: don’t we have busses for that? All zone 1a to zone 1 have alternate cheaper options such as the bus or the T.
russianteadrinker t1_j6pbqun wrote
"all zone 1a to zone 1 have cheaper options" which in many cases are also waaaayyyy slower and less reliable. from my experience T buses get delayed much more often and by much longer than the commuter rail. some examples:
newtonville to boston landing: 6 minutes vs 50-60 minutes with a transfer
belmont to porter: 6 minutes vs ~30 minutes with a transfer
waverley to north station: 23 minutes vs 1 hour with two transfers
wedgmere to west medford: 3 minutes vs 40 minutes including a transfer and a half mile walk
unless your zone 1 stop is on a frequent bus route or a "rapid" transit route, looking at current estimates it is anywhere from ~3 to ~15 times slower to get from zone 1 to 1A without using the commuter rail. not to mention transfers (likely outdoors and standing) and needing to walk.
[deleted] t1_j6nuxig wrote
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[deleted] t1_j6nwzs6 wrote
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rip_wallace t1_j6o7dmg wrote
russianteadrinker t1_j6ohhlq wrote
not right now because the only direct trains from hyde park to providence run at 9.40am and 11.15pm
but when those run the fare is $6.25
the fare calculator will tell you the same
nicecupoftea02116 t1_j6nw1z0 wrote
There are "interzone" fares if you get on after a terminus station.
Graflex01867 t1_j6o70d5 wrote
No, that fare is correct. I thought there’s no way that’s right, so I looked it up. It’s right. (Which is crazy.)
The inter zone fare is 6.25, for covering 8 zones. The straight fare for 8 zones is 12.25.
Victor_Korchnoi t1_j6nypu2 wrote
Which cost isn’t true?
rip_wallace t1_j6o7hba wrote
Victor_Korchnoi t1_j6o9oh0 wrote
Interesting. On the MTicket App, it says a trip to Providence from Hyde Park is $6.25. Idk what explains the discrepancy between your link and what I’m seeing on the app. Im inclined to believe the app though because the app actually sells the tickets.
Rabl t1_j6ow4qh wrote
That's not a direct trip. That $8.75 is $3.50 for a ticket from Hyde Park to Canton Junction, and $5.25 for a second ticket from Canton Junction to Providence. You were looking at a time when there were no trains that stopped at both Hyde Park and Providence.
A single Interzone 8 ticket is $6.25.
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