MBTA Fare Hike Takes Effect Today; Protests Planned

MBTA fare increases will go into effect July 1, averaging close to 6 percent across the system. The increases vary by subway, express buses and the commuter rail.

Fares for the T with a CharlieCard will increase from $2.25 to $2.40 for a one-way trip, and the monthly linkpass will increase from $84.50 to $90. Commuter rail hikes depend on zone, but the largest is for a Zone 10 monthly pass, which will rise from $398.25 to $426.

MBTA officials project the increases will bring in close to $30 million of new revenue, without which the projected budget deficit would increase higher than the current fiscal year. As a compromise, T board officials decided to exempt bus fares from the current round of increases.

Fare increases have faced pushback with recent train derailments on the Green and Red lines, and expected Red line repairs not to be completed until Labor day.

"It’s simply insensitive and unfair to ask riders to pay more while the Red Line struggles to get people to and from their jobs," Staci Rubin, senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, said in a statement Friday.

More than two dozen state and local elected officials, led by Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, plan to spend the morning commute at stops and on trains protesting the hikes.