MBTA Plans 23 Percent Fare Hike, Some Service Cuts

UPDATE, Wednesday, 12:09 p.m. —The 48 bus or "JP Loop" will be eliminated on weekdays. The Green Line into JP will end on weekends at Brigham Circle. PDFs with complete details on the changes have been added to this post. For more details, please visit the MBTA Web site.

~~~~~

MBTA fares will rise 23 percent and four bus routes would be cut as part of the MBTA's final plan to close its $161 million budget gap, according to WBZ-TV.

Fourteen other bus routes would be modified. Details of the plan are scheduled to be unveiled during a press conference today. If approved, the changes would begin on July 1.

Bus fares would rise to $1.50 from $1.25 and a subway ride would jump to $2 from $1.70. Monthly passes would rise from $59 to $70.

For students and seniors, bus fares will rise to 75 cents and subway rides will jump to $1. Also, the MBTA would start offering a 7-day student pass for $28.

No changes would be made for THE RIDE services, but fares would rise to $ 4or $5 depending on where you live and how far you would travel.

Also, weekend commuter rail service will remain, however, weekend service on the Plymouth-Kingston, Needham and Greenbush lines would would be eliminated.

Ferry rates would rise 35 percent and Quincy ferry service would be axed, according to WBZ.

Additionally, the state Department of Transportation would use $5 million from the state's snow and ice removal to help close its budget gap. It also plans, with approval from lawmakers, to take $51 million from the state's vehicle inspection fund to help cover the budget deficit.

The two earlier plans for cuts both eliminated the 48 Loop bus, among other possible effects for JP transit users. Once the details are announced, we'll update them here on Patch.