BOSTON — Low-income MBTA riders will receive a taxpayer-funded discount on bus subway and commuter rail service beginning next month, but questions are being raised about a lack of funding for the new program.
The Fare Equity program, which gets underway Sept. 4, offers qualifying low-income T riders a roughly 50% discount on standard fares and passes across all transit modes — subway, bus, commuter rail, the RIDE paratransit service and water ferries. The new program is projected to cost about $60 million a year.
Backers of the long-debated plan, which was approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature, say the changes will make a big difference in the lives of low-income residents, the disabled and the elderly, who depend on public transit. Meanwhile, they say, it will increase ridership and provide much-needed fare revenue for the T’s operations.
“For many of our low-income riders, we know the daily expense of commuting can be a burden, but this program will provide the financial relief riders need and, as a result, encourage more people to take public transportation, Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
Under the new pricing system, reduced fares would be available for riders ages 18 to 64 with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. That means people who earn about $30,000 or less, or about $62,000 or less for a four-person household, according to T officials.
Still, critics have raised questions about the long-term viability of the taxpayer-funded program, which still lacks a dedicated funding source in the state budget.
Healey proposed $45 million for the plan as part of her preliminary budget but legislative leaders only allocated $20 million in the final spending package.
The MBTA’s advisory committee also cautioned that the state lacks a long-term funding plan to pay for low-income fares before recommending approval of the plan.
The MBTA approved an amendment proposed by state Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt to extend the low-income discount to rides outside the transit agency’s core service area. T officials said that change will drive up the cost of the low-income fare program by nearly $4 million.
“This cost will inevitably balloon and the taxpayers will forever be obligated to pay for this irresponsible decision,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman for the conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “Politicians who announce ‘discounted’ or ‘free’ services are simply implying other people will pay for it and that is irresponsible.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers approved $30 million in the fiscal 2025 budget for the state’s 15 regional transit authorities, such as the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority, to offer free bus service.
More than 60,000 bus, subway and commuter rail riders are expected to enroll in the new discounted fare program, which is projected to result in an estimated seven million more trips per year, T officials say.
The move will translate into savings of up to $720 a year for daily bus and subway riders, and $1,908 for commuter rail riders who qualify for the discount, according to the advocacy group Public Transit Public Good Coalition.
T officials say they will verify eligibility using a rider’s enrollment in another income-based program, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, and MassHealth plans.
Those who qualify would get a reduced-fare CharlieCard loaded with stored value, so riders can pay half fares at a fare box or fare gate. They can buy tickets and passes at half price, T officials said. The Healey administration said it has expanded the number of locations where riders can get the discounted T passes.
Healey is among those who have pushed for discounted MBTA fares for low-income riders, arguing the move will save front-line workers money and boost ridership as the public transit agency grapples with massive deficits driven by a mountain of debt, some of which dates back to the Big Dig project.
T officials estimate the agency’s operating deficit for the next fiscal year is $182 million, which is projected to grow to $859 million by 2029.
Ridership is another concern, with the number of passengers still below pre-pandemic levels. Fare revenue covered 41% of the system’s annual operating expenses prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that has dropped to 19%, according to officials.
Meanwhile, the MBTA said it would need about $24.5 billion to bring the system into a state of “good repair” by replacing tracks, facilities, power equipment, trains and other infrastructure.
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