Is MBTA Eliminating Senior Citizen Reduced Fare Program?

Boston MA

14 April, 2022

10:58 AM

Description

In 2022, the MTA has stopped providing Boston senior citizens (65 or over) who ride the T's bus, subway, trolley and commuter rail lines with either new Senior ID Charlie Cards or with replacement cards for any now-defective Senior ID Charlie Cards which were previously provided. According to an MBTA "customer service" representative this writer telephoned, the reaon new or replacement Senior ID Charlie Cards are not now being provided to all T-riders in Boston who are over 65 years-of-age is allegedly that "the machine that produces the Senior ID Charlie Cards is broken." Prior to 2022, all senior citizens in Boston were eligible to apply for and receive a Senior ID Charlie Card that enabled them to pay a reduced fare whenever they used MBTA public transit or to purchase a monthly public transit pass for a reduced price, after they all reached the age of 65 years. What the MBTA administrators are apparently attempting to do is to substitute a "Means-Tested Senior Citizen Pass Program" for the Senion Pass Program that all Boston riders over the age of 65 years-of-age, regardless of their annual income, were previously eligible to benefit from. One result of this possible change in determining who is eligible to receive a Senior ID Charlie Card will be that, if you're a T-Rider over the age of 65 whose annual income is not considered to be "low-income enough" by the 6-figure-saalaried MBTA administrators to "deserve" reduced Senior Fare eligibility, after being "means-tested," you will apparently no longer be eligible to purchase a monthly MBTA pass at the reduced senior price or pay a reduced fare whenever you ride on a bus, subway car, trolley or commuter rail line. In addition, by providing Senior ID Charlie Cards to people over 65 years-of-age in Boston that become defective with frequent use after less than 3 years--and then not quickly providing replacement cards that are not erroneously rejected by the T's fare collection equipment--the MBTA administrators are apparently attempting to increase, in another way, the number of riders over 65 years-of-age who will be required to pay a full fare when using public transit. In 2022 the MBTA may be attempting to decrease the number of senior citizens in the Greater Boston area who will no longer be eligible for a reduced senior citizen fare or a senior citizen monthly pass when they reach the age of 65, by substituting a "Means-Tested Senior Citizens Pass Program" for its previous "Senior Citizens Pass Program For All" public transit program. But in Philadelphia, in contrast, all senior citizens over 65 years of age, regardless of their annual incomes, are provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority [SEPTA] with senior passes at no cost, equally; which allows them to ride fare-free all year on Philadelphia's mass transit system routes. As Philadelphia's sEPTA website notes: "Senior citizens, age 65 and older, with a valid ID, ride FREE at all times on all Transit Routes (Bus, Trolley, Broad Street/Broad Ridge Spur Line, Market Frankford Line/Morristown High Speed Line) and on Regional Rail for travel to/from stations located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." And in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the Lebanon Transit public transit system provides Lebanon residents who are over 65 years-of-age, at no cost, a Lebanon Transit Senior Pass, which allows all seniors who live in Lebanon, Pennsylvania to ride all Lebanon Transit Fixed Route Buses for free each month. In addition, in Miami, Florida and the rest of Dade County, Florida, all senior citizens who are 65 years-of-age and over are also provided with senior passes, at no cost, that enable them to ride fare-free on the Metrobus service and the Metrorail system of Miami and Dade County's public transit system.