MBTA Plans 23 Percent Fare Hike, Some Service Cuts [POLL]

Update: The following is from the MBTA: "The plan includes the elimination of just four weekday bus routes and a revised schedule for 14 other routes. All weekday and all weekend ferry service will be continued except for weekend Quincy service. 

Weekend service on the Green Line’s E-Branch will be maintained outbound as far as the Brigham Circle stop.  Customers travelling between Brigham Circle and Heath Street (a distance of 0.7 miles) will have the option of using the existing, accessible Route 39 bus.  

Commuter rail trains will retain all weekday service.  Weekend service on the Greenbush, Needham and Kingston/Plymouth lines will be eliminated.  

Because the services targeted for elimination see low ridership, the MBTA estimates just 0.3 percent of current riders will be lost through the proposed fare and service changes."

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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 Transporation would use $5 million form the state's snow and ice removal to help close its budget gap. It also plans to, with approval from lamakers, take $51 milliuon from the state's vehicle inspection fund to help cover the budget deficit.