In October 2024, the MBTA launched a bold initiative: Convince riders who have been getting free rides on the Green Line to start paying up.
The transit system deployed teams of “fare engagement representatives” across train lines in an effort to recoup some of the $25 to $30 million it loses every year to fare evasion. At underground stations with fare gates, the task was simple: Keep an eye out for passengers who hop gates or sneak in after other riders who already paid.
But on the B, C, and D branches of the Green Line — which operate above ground with no turnstile entrances — things have proved more challenging.
While free rides are technically disallowed on these branches, riders tend to abuse the honor system in which free rides can easily go undetected, especially when boarding at the back of trains, away from trolley drivers.
“I never pay,” said Mary, as she waited on a bench at Blandford Street Tuesday afternoon. Mary asked not to provide her last name because she was preparing to commit a civil violation.
“Never” was an over-statement, Mary admitted as she waited for her Government-Center-bound train. She has paid before, but only after getting caught.
Last September, the T began ramping up its fare enforcement initiative. Fare engagement representatives, clad in bright blue shirts, khaki pants and MBTA caps, would no longer just be warning fare evading passengers; they would begin issuing citations and fines. The idea was to get riders to start taking fares seriously.
According to public records data shared with MassLive last month, the ramped up initiative has been mostly “bark” and little “bite.” Since September 2025, the fare engagement team issued just 200 formal warnings and only three citations for fare evasion across the entire MBTA system, the news outlet found, and many riders reported that paying the fare felt optional because enforcement and repercussions were minimal.
Still, several Green Line riders told GBH News this week they’ve noticed an increase in enforcement over the past month.
“There were two people standing outside the [trolley] door the other day,” said Daniel Ribera, as he waited for a train at the BU Central stop. “I think they were enforcing it.”
The MBTA did not directly respond to questions about whether the agency has ramped up enforcement on the Green Line this month, but told GBH News that they have issued an additional 62 warnings in recent weeks, bringing the total number since September 2025 to 262. The agency added that “the presence of Fare Engagement Representatives has been leading to higher engagement rates.”
“We want to thank our riders who pay for their trips as they are contributing towards improvements and the service the public deserves,” MBTA spokesperson Maya Bingeman said in a statement. “We also want to remind anyone unsure of how to pay for their fare that they may talk to a fare engagement representative or transit ambassador.”
But most of the Green Line riders who spoke to GBH News said knowledge of how to pay isn’t the issue; it’s simply that they don’t want to pay.
“It’s inconvenient for students,” said Ribera, who is currently enrolled at Boston University. “When you’re going back and forth taking the train for classes, the money adds up.”
The MBTA does offer semester passes to college students, with 11% fare discounts. The agency also offers discounted CharlieCards to middle and high school students.
Whether or not these initiatives, combined with the T’s fare enforcement program, will be enough to convince riders to pay remains to be seen. After all, the program is still new, considering the decades of lax enforcement that preceded it.
But as of now, many riders remain ardent that they should not, and will not, pay — that is, unless they’re confronted by an MBTA employee. During more than a dozen separate rides on the Green Line’s B and D branches Tuesday, GBH News did not see a single passenger pay for a ride when boarding the back of a trolley at an above-ground stop.
As fare evader Mary’s train arrived at Blandford Street Tuesday, she waited for a second to glance inside the trolley car after the doors opened.
No fare engagement representative was in sight. Mary hopped aboard, stepped past the contactless payment reader near the trolley’s entrance and grabbed a seat. She breathed a sigh of relief as the trolley bell rang.
