The MBTA should add tap-out fare gates to allow for walking transfers without paying twice
(Or receipt machines on the Green Line surface branches)
The piss portal between Park Street and Downtown Crossing is marked in green, as that transfer is already possible on a single fare.
This post is about walking transfers on the surface, without having to pay double fare.
Uses of each transfer (why I think it is worth the cost of adding tap-out gates or surface Green Line receipt machines to these stations)
ㆍChestnut Hill Rd - Cleveland Circle - Reservoir
⠀⠀Allows for people who live on the surface sections of the Green Line to get to surface sections of a different branch easier.
ㆍ Brookline Village - Riverway
⠀Allows for people who live on the surface sections of the Green Line to get to surface sections of a different branch easier.
ㆍFenway - Saint Mary's Street
⠀Allows for people who live on the surface sections of the Green Line to get to surface sections of a different branch easier.
ㆍSymphony - Mass Ave
⠀Allows people who are on the Green Line E to get on the faster Orange Line, saving time. Also allows for redundancy if either the E Branch or Orange Line isn't working properly.
ㆍCopley - Back Bay
⠀Allows people who are on any branch of the Green Line to get on the faster Orange Line, saving time. Also allows for redundancy if either the Green or Orange Line isn't working properly.
ㆍBoylston - Chinatown
⠀Allows people who are on any branch of the Green Line to get on the faster Orange Line, saving time. Also allows for redundancy if either the Green or Orange Line isn't working properly.
ㆍDowntown Crossing - South Station
⠀Orange Line to this transfer is the fastest way to get from North Station to South Station if you are a fast walker. Also good for when the Red Line isn't working properly. (when is the Red Line working properly?)
ㆍState - Downtown Crossing
⠀Fastest way to do Red - Blue transfer if you are coming from/going to Ashmont or Braintree.
ㆍGov't Ctr - Park Street
⠀Fastest way to do Red - Blue transfer if you are coming from/going to Alewife.
ㆍGov't Ctr - State
⠀The previous two transfers on this list means the tap-out infrastructure would be in place for this transfer too, so might as well allow it. Also allows for redundancy if the Blue Line isn't working properly.
All of these transfers are already possible, it's just that you have to pay two fares to utilize them. A tap-out system would remove this problem. It could work so that as long as you tap in to your next station within 15 minutes of tapping out of your previous station, the system would allow you to not pay two fares.
Posted Aug 8, 2025, 4:53 PM UTC