MBTA commuter rail riders passing through South Station will soon be introduced to a new fare collection system.
In August, the T announced it would install fare gates at its busiest transit hub, outside the commuter rail and Amtrak platforms. The gates are expected to begin collecting fares in December, an agency spokesperson confirmed.
Similar to the MBTA’s subway lines, riders will need to scan a ticket to access the platforms. However, unlike on the subway, they will also need to scan their ticket to exit.
Commuter rail fare gates will also not accept tap-to-pay from a credit or debit card, phone or watch, as the subway and buses do.
Still, the MBTA has said the new fare collection system will have minimal impact on riders’ trips.
Fare gates have already been used at the commuter rail’s North Station platforms for about three years. The MBTA also says it plans to install them at Ruggles and Back Bay stations by early next year.
At South Station, the agency held off installing the gates during the construction of a skyscraper above the station, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng told the agency’s board last year. That building project was completed in September.
At the same board meeting, transit officials said they estimated that 25% of fares are not collected on commuter rail trains operating out of South Station.
The T estimated in 2019 that it was losing $10 million to $20 million in revenue from uncollected commuter rail fares, or between 4% and 8% of potential revenue. The industry standard is 3%, “in even the most airtight, gated systems,” the agency said.
“The public has a right to expect us to do our part and to ensure revenue is collected,” Eng said in August when the T announced the South Station fare gates.
“These fares support our operations budget and are important to continuing the delivery of safe, reliable and more frequent rail service,” he added.
After the T launched the North Station fare gates in October 2022, riders described them as “inconvenient,” “aggravating” and “a little frustrating,” according to an early 2023 Boston.com article. Some people said the scanners struggled to read barcodes on smartphones, causing riders to miss their trains because lines backed up.
An MBTA webpage posted last weekend but evidently taken offline, said the South Station fare gates would open during a testing phase on Dec. 15.
The MBTA did not provide additional details on the timeline for the fare gate rollout or confirm whether riders would first use the gates during a testing period.
“December is the month we plan for the gates to be operational,” a T spokesperson said in response to questions from MassLive.
The agency said in August it would install 40 gates at South Station, 11 of which are wide enough to fit wheelchairs, scooters, bicycles, luggage and strollers.
Even after fare gates open at South Station, riders will still need to show conductors their ticket on board their train to verify they paid for the correct trip. Riders must then keep their tickets to scan upon exiting the concourse.
Though long in the works, the expansion of commuter rail fare gates comes as the MBTA has also launched a crackdown on subway fare evasion. The agency said the crackdown would eventually expand to buses and the Green Line and Mattapan Line trolleys as well.
Fare evasion was decriminalized by state lawmakers in 2021, meaning violators face fines rather than criminal liability.
Since September, riders who have been caught dodging the subway fare gates have been given a warning first before being issued a ticket or subsequent violations. Fines start at $50 and climb to $100 after four violations.
In the first six weeks of the program, 85 riders were issued warnings, though none were fined.
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