Good news for the MBTA: ridership and fare revenue are both higher than the agency expected they’d be — and that’s been the case for months now.
General Manager Phil Eng presented the latest data at a meeting of the T’s Board of Directors on Thursday. It’s a positive trend for the agency, which faces significant long-term budget problems and has struggled to bring ridership back to pre-pandemic levels.
Eng told the T’s board that the total number of people who took the subway this February was 24% higher than in February 2024. The largest gains were on the Green Line, which saw a 40% bump compared to last year, but the MBTA saw increases on all the lines.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Eng said, adding that he hopes efforts to upgrade the system’s signaling infrastructure will encourage more ridership in the year ahead.
The T has been switching the signaling system — think traffic lights, but for trains — from analog to digital on the Red and Orange Lines for the past several months. The agency says that work will lead to more frequent and reliable service.
Eng also told board members that the agency is collecting more money than expected from passengers, which he credited to a new initiative cracking down on people trying to get free rides. Late last year, the T launched a new “fare engagement” team tasked with confronting passengers and educating them on how they can pay.
“We’ve hired 16 fare engagement reps that have consistently been going through the system,” he said. “We’re seeing that wherever those engagements have taken place, we’re seeing a 30% increase in fair payment.”
According to data presented during Thursday’s board meeting, fare revenue has exceeded expectations by $18 million so far this fiscal year. Eng expects that number to grow as the agency makes further improvements to the system and works to win back more riders.
