I had an appointment in Boston today, so I took the Commuter Rail in and out from Lowell. At Gallagher Terminal I found there was no ticket counter in the lobby since LRTA is trying to keep that as clear as possible to accomplish social distancing. I was told that I could buy a ticket on board and planned to purchase a round trip. A conductor occasionally popped his head into my car to see if anyone needed one of the flag stops, but nobody ever came through to collect or sell tickets.
For my return trip, figuring that experience was a fluke, I purchased a one-way ticket at North Station so to not avoid an onboard surcharge. The lady at the window sold me one without comment about any waivers. I boarded the train and stuck my ticket in the loop on the seatback in front of me. Again, we got all the way to Lowell, and nobody every collected the ticket. I still have it and I guess I can use it until it expires on 9/29/20. Does anyone know why this happened? We always talk about how they need revenue which they won’t get if they don’t collect.
As an aside, it’s been quite a while since I have taken this trip. When did North Station get such a renovation?!
Heh — North Station has been under essentially continuous reconstruction since 2005, when vestiges of the old Central Artery were removed. Sounds like it’s been awhile since you’ve been on a train. 🙂
I’m not sure why fares weren’t collected the day you rode. As is so often the case with Massachusetts government in general and public transportation in particular, it is exceedingly difficult to get concrete budget information. For example, the officially-published FY2020 MBTA “Itemized” budget (https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/fmcb-meeting-docs/2019/04-april/2018-04-08-fmcb-K-fy20-final-itemized-operating-budget-support-accessible.pdf) does not show commuter rail fares separately from overall fares.
On the other hand, it does show that total fares were projected at $639.9M out of total revenue of $2.082.9M and total expenses of $2,119.4M.
Commuter rail fare revenue is a relatively small portion of the MBTA budget.
I have been to North Station since they dismantled the elevated rail and linked the orange and green lines inside the fare area. What surprised me was the ability to walk straight ahead from the platform outside to Causeway Street, whereas previously I had to choose between turning left or right to exit the building. The facade facing Causeway Street also has a whole new look compared to last time I was there.
Yes indeed, the entire area has been rebuilt. I think the changes you describe were mostly-finished 2-3 years ago, they’ve been under construction for what seems like an eternity.
It probably has been at least that long since I’ve made that trip.