MBTA backs away from commuter rail fare loss estimate

October 29, 2024

By Bruce Mohl

The MBTA is backing away from a statement made last Thursday by the agency’s senior manager of fare policy and analysis, who estimated 25 percent of fares on the south side of the commuter rail system are not being collected.

David Churella made the comment at a meeting of the MBTA board of directors in response to a question from Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, who wanted to know how much money the T was losing by not collecting all commuter rail fares.

Tibbits-Nutt indicated she was surprised at the 25 percent estimate. “That’s a really big loss of revenue,” she said.

When CommonWealth Beacon followed up on Monday with more detailed questions about the fare situation, T officials said they do not have an estimate of fare revenue losses last year. 

The officials said the figure mentioned at the board meeting was based on the percentage increase in mTicket activations on the north side of the commuter rail system after fare gates were installed at North Station. The officials said Churella’s estimate was not based on a “comprehensive method” for evaluating fare collection efforts on the south side of the commuter rail system, which extends out from South Station.

Haphazard fare collection on the commuter rail system has been a recurring complaint from riders for years and a growing concern at the MBTA. In 2019, the T estimated the commuter rail system was failing to collect 4 to 8 percent of commuter rail fares, or about $10 million to $20 million per year.

At that time, the T planned to install fare gates at North, South, and Back Bay stations in 2020 to make sure riders boarding trains activate their tickets. Fare gates at North Station opened on October 1, 2022, and fare collections have grown by roughly 25 percent since then. Gates have not been installed yet at South and Back Bay stations.

At Thursday’s board meeting, Churella indicated he could extrapolate from the North Station experience the amount of fares going uncollected at South Station, but the T said a full analysis has not been conducted.

“The MBTA is committed to ensuring fair contribution from all riders and actively working with Keolis, our commuter rail operator, to strengthen fare collection efforts, including additional management audits and a third-party ‘mystery rider’ program,” the T said in a statement. “While ridership behaviors and revenue patterns have evolved since the pandemic, we are taking proactive steps, including fare gates at North Station, South Station, and Back Bay. Construction-related constraints at South Station have delayed gate installation, but we’re prepared to proceed as soon as conditions allow us to move forward.”

T officials said commuter rail conductors have been directed to electronically scan mTickets to verify riders have activated their tickets. At Thursday’s board meeting, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said conductor scans of mTickets, the primary ticket for riding the commuter rail system, rose from 171,669 in September 2023 to 517,864 last month, an increase of more than 200 percent.

Churella cautioned at the board meeting that the rise in scans does not automatically correlate with a recovery of lost revenue because conductors previously often verified activated mTickets visually.

MBTA officials said most conductors consistently make fare collection attempts while balancing their other duties. The officials said missed fare checks “have been linked to a limited number of employees.”

A statement from Keolis Commuter Services said fare collection efforts have steadily improved. “It’s important to note that the main responsibilities of commuter rail conductors and assistant conductors are ensuring the safety of passengers and operating the doors at each station. Fare collection is secondary to these primary tasks,” the statement said.

The shift to a new tap-on system, which is just beginning now and has not reached the commuter rail system yet, has raised more concerns because it relies on passengers voluntarily tapping a payment card to gain access. The T is hiring employees to verify passengers pay for their rides. 

At Thursday’s board meeting, Eng said the new “fare engagement representatives” are performing mostly an educational role now, but T officials have noticed fare collections have increased about 35 percent when the representatives are at above-ground Green Line stations.