MBTA expands limited LRT boarding access
Written by Douglas John BowenDeciding longer dwell times are preferable to fare evasion and fraud, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Tuesday expanded operating Green Line light rail transit service using only front-set doors during off-peak and weekend operations.
MBTA acknowledges the move seeks to curtail those boarding the “T” through side doors and failing to pay for their trip.
In a statement Tuesday, MBTA said , ‘This past winter, the MBTA began conducting monthly ‘fare blitzes’ in an effort to enforce the collection of all fares and to remind customers that they should be paying their fare to ride the system. Along with the front door only policy, these fare blitzes will continue to be conducted throughout the Green Line to aid in the MBTA’s ongoing effort to enforce the collection of all transit fares.”
Other Green Line branches with above-ground entryways already operate in this manner; only the Riverside stop on the D line differs, as riders pay as they enter the station.
Local TV media quoted one rider, Julie Polsin of Newton, Mass., observing, “I think it’s fair, but at the same time, it’s definitely going to slow the T down a little.”
To combat the specter of longer dwell times, MBTA plans to allow all doors to be used during morning and evening rush hours, generally between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays. But riders will be required to show a valid CharlieCard or Charlie Ticket, with cash payments banned.
