On-Board Train Tickets to Cost $3 More Starting July 1

Commuter rail riders getting onboard at , or stations will pay an additional $3 for a ride to Boston unless they buy a ticket or pass ahead of time, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority announced last week.

On July 1, the rate for a one-way trip to Boston from any of the three Melrose stations in Zone 1 will go from $4.25 to $5.50. But the same ride will cost $8.50 if a rider does not get on board with a ticket or pass in hand.

The move is designed to reduce the amount of time that conductors spend collecting fares.

Tickets can be purchased in Melrose before boarding the train at , , or .

Previously, the T charged $1 more to buy a ticket onboard during off-peak times and $2 during peak times if riders did not purchase a ticket beforehand. But that fee was always waved if there wasn’t a store or ticket machine at the station where the passenger was boarding the train.

But that's no longer the case. Commuter rail riders will need to have a ticket or pass in hand when they board the train in order to avoid paying an additional $6 for roundtrip travel to Boston.

According to the MBTA 2010 Blue Book, Melrose has typical weekday boardings of 184 at Wyoming Hill, 230 at Cedar Park and 380 at Highlands, and many of them are regular riders who have a monthly pass. On July 1, the cost of a monthly Zone 1 pass will increase from $135 to $173.

But single-trip riders or daytrippers could face sticker shock if they get on board without a ticket.

The T suggests riders use its smartphone app to buy tickets, but that system will not be online when the new fares are rolled out on July 1. It is expected to start sometime this fall.

The T said it will make both rates clear on its website and on its printed schedules. Since there is not a place to buy a ticket or pass at every station, the T said it has kept the on-board cash option.

But by charging $3 more, it hopes to push even more people to buy a ticket beforehand—something it says will help free up conductors to check pass and allow the trains to run on schedule.

“By reducing the number of cash transactions on board, the structure leads to customer service improvements,” T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in a prepared statement explaining the changes. “First, conductors can move more quickly through the train so that all tickets and passes can be verified, helping to reduce fare evasion; second, with less time devoted to cash transactions, more time is available to attend to doors, which results in speedier boarding and exiting times. This will also contribute to improved on time performance.”

Melrose Patch Editor Daniel DeMaina contributed to this report.