RIDERSHIP CLIMBS DESPITE FARE INCREASE

BOSTON – Despite a fare increase that took effect July 1st, the MBTA posted a sixth onsecutive month of increased ridership. With average weekday passenger trips of 1.219 million, July’s ridership was nearly 3% above figures for July of last year. In the same month that fares rose by 5%, ridership on buses, subway trains, Commuter Boats, and Commuter Rail also increased. In fact, MBTA Commuter Boats had their busiest month in two years with an average of 6,800 ferry riders each weekday. “We also experienced robust ridership levels on weekends in July,” said MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott. Saturday ridership was 3.6% higher than July 2013, and Sunday ridership increased by 1.4%.

“Thanks to increased ridership in the second half of Fiscal Year 2014, fare revenue collections finished 2.1% above FY 2013,” said Dr. Scott, who reported nearly $624.4 million in revenue from fares in the fiscal year that ended June 30th. “Combined with our cost-cutting initiatives, the increased fare collections resulted in overall revenues exceeding total expenses by $14.2 million in Fiscal Year 2014,” said Dr. Scott. “That money goes directly into our Capital Maintenance Fund to help pay for much-needed repairs and upgrades to our aging infrastructure.” Boston’s subway, America’s first, turns 117 years old on Monday, September 1st.

In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) was created to unify the state’s various transportation agencies. MassDOT now includes the Highway Division, the MBTA and Rail Transit Division, the Aeronautics Division, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. MassDOT is committed to providing a safe and reliable transportation system to all those who travel in the Commonwealth and works to deliver excellent customer service. MassDOT has been nationally recognized for its innovative approach to transportation, including the Accelerated Bridge Program, the “Where’s My Bus and Train?” apps and “Fast 14” work. For more information, visit MassDOT at our website: www.mass.gov/massdot blog: http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/, or follow MassDOT on twitter at https://twitter.com/MassDOT and Facebook at www.facebook.com/massdotinfo.