Transit
MBTA Fares Explained: CharlieCard, Tap and Transfers
What a ride costs, which payment method gets you a free transfer, and the one combination that quietly charges you twice.
The MBTA has spent years moving from a plastic-card fare system to one where you tap a phone or a bank card at the gate. Both systems now exist at once, and the difference between them is not just convenience. It determines whether your transfer is free.
What a ride costs
A one-way subway ride is $2.40. A local bus ride is $1.70. A monthly LinkPass, which covers subway and local bus, is $90.
Commuter rail is priced separately by zone, and the ferry is separate again. Neither is included in a LinkPass at the base level, so if your commute involves either, check what your pass actually covers before assuming.
How to pay
CharlieCard. The reusable plastic card. You load cash value or a pass onto it and tap at the gate.
CharlieTicket. The paper ticket from a station vending machine.
Contactless. Tap a phone or a contactless bank card directly at the reader. This is the direction the whole system is moving, and it is available on bus, subway and ferry.
Cash. Accepted on buses and at street-level trolley stops.
The transfer rule, which is where money is lost
On subway and bus you can transfer up to two times and pay only the cost of the highest-priced service. A bus-to-subway-to-bus trip costs one subway fare rather than three separate fares.
The catch is that this only works with the right payment method. Transfers are not available when paying with cash, or with stored value on a CharlieTicket. They apply to CharlieCard and to contactless payment.
That is the single most expensive misunderstanding on the system. A visitor paying cash on the bus and then cash again at the subway gate pays twice for a trip a local pays once for. If you are here for a few days and will change modes at all, get a CharlieCard or use contactless.
Commuter rail is a different animal
Commuter rail runs on zones, tickets are checked on board rather than at a gate, and the mTicket app is the usual way regulars buy. Single-ride commuter rail tickets generally do not include free transfers to subway or bus, though certain monthly passes do.
If your trip mixes commuter rail with the subway regularly, work out the pass maths before buying singles. The break-even point arrives faster than most people expect.
Practical advice
Decide your payment method before your first ride, not at a gate with a queue behind you. The choice determines your fares for the whole trip.
If you are visiting and will ride more than about four times in a day, compare a day pass against singles. If you are here a week, compare the 7-day pass.
Keep the CharlieCard if you get one. They are reusable, they hold value indefinitely, and buying a new one each visit is a small recurring waste.
About the author
Terrence Boyle
Terrence Boyle covers housing, transit and the regional economy for Daily Bostonian, from the MBTA and development fights to the employers driving growth around Boston.