This week, the MBTA slapped riders with a sizable fare increase that was perfectly timed to punctuate the mass confusion over the rollout of the new $85 million “Charlie Card” automated fare system, which is touted as proof that fare increases lead to fabulous improvements, like: Now you put your money into a machine instead of giving it to a person!
Who is Charlie, this transit mascot , you wonder? Charlie is the fabled hero of the 1959 Kingston Trio hit “The MTA Song.” He is stuck on the train because he can’t pay the exit fare. What is an exit fare, you wonder? An exit fare is way to increase fares without having to upgrade collection equipment, by collecting a second fare from exiting riders. So, I can only assume the MBTA is exhibiting its trademark absurdist wit by branding the new system with this victim of archaic transit equipment. Plus, lest we forget, they eliminated exit fares – meaning everyone pays more except the folks who ride Charlie’s line.
Subway fares went from $1.25 to $1.70, bus fares went from $0.90 to $1.25, and subway monthly passes skyrocketed from $44 to $66. Some simple math indicates that the average commuter who rides the subway twice a day, five days a week will save exactly $2 by buying the monthly pass. (Better not take a sick day.) Commuter rail riders face an average 22 percent hike – me, I now pay $186 a month for the pleasure of my Zone 4 pass. More math: Assuming I take the train a maximum 20 times a month, that’s roughly $9.30 a day. That is cheaper than driving ($4.40 for tolls, $9 for parking, and maybe $2 for gas.) But if I car pool with 1 person, suddenly driving is attractive. And if I car pool with 2 people – an actual choice for me – then the train becomes a costly luxury.
Yes, but doesn’t taking the train spare you the aggravation of the highways? Hm. The joke about the commuter rail is: It always runs on time, except in the winter (snow on the tracks), the summer (heat expands the tracks), the fall (leaves on the tracks), and spring (when they do track repairs.) And when you’re behind the wheel of a car, your adrenal cortex isn’t at the mercy of a unionized workforce, and your butt isn’t squished against the meaty thighs of a snoring, pastrami-digesting middle-aged man who is probably named Charlie. My theory: the MBTA is dealing with famously over-crowded trains by reducing ridership rather than upgrading service. And it just may work.
