How to pay for the T in Boston (2026)

You can ride most of the T by tapping your bank card or phone. Here is what each ride costs, where tapping works, and when you need a CharlieCard, a CharlieTicket or the mTicket app.

By Ahmad Haji, founder of Cobblehop · October 29, 2026

What the T costs in 2026

These are the standard one-way fares listed on mbta.com in October 2026. Children 11 and under ride the MBTA free.

• Free transfers for 2 hours. Since September 1, 2026, the MBTA has been piloting a 2-hour transfer window on the subway, buses and ferries. Within two hours of your first tap, you can change as often as you like and pay only the highest fare of the trip. For example, the subway and then two buses cost one $2.40 subway fare. Use the same card or phone each time, or the transfer won't apply. Cash gets no free transfers.
• Reduced fares. People 65 and older, people with disabilities and some other riders pay $1.10 on the subway and $0.85 on the bus with an MBTA reduced fare card. See kids, seniors and students below.

Tap to pay: card, phone or watch

For most visitors, this is the easiest way to pay. You pay the same fare as with a CharlieCard, and you don't need to buy anything first.

1. Check your card. Look for the contactless symbol, four curved lines, on your credit or debit card. To pay with a phone or watch, add a card to Apple Wallet, Google Wallet or Samsung Pay first.
2. Tap the Charlie reader. In the subway, it's on top of the fare gate. On buses and at street-level Green Line and Mattapan trolley stops, tap the reader at any door.
3. Wait for the green "Go" screen, then walk through or take your seat.
4. Use the same card or phone for the whole trip. The free transfer only works if every tap uses the same one.

Where you can tap, and the other ways to pay:

• Passes don't go on a bank card or phone. Tapping pays one fare at a time. For a 1-day or 7-day pass, use a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket.
• iPhone Express Mode. With Express Mode on, an iPhone or Apple Watch can pay at the reader without unlocking. You can turn it off in Wallet if you worry about accidental taps.
• Charged by mistake? You can review your taps on the MBTA's Charlie website, charlie.mbta.com, and dispute a charge within seven days.

CharlieCard and CharlieTicket

A CharlieCard is the MBTA's reusable plastic card. A CharlieTicket is a tappable ticket from the fare machines. If you tap a bank card or phone, you don't need either one. Get one if you want a pass or don't have a contactless card.

Where to get a CharlieCard:

• Fare machines in most subway stations, including the ones in the Logan Airport terminals, at Airport station and at South Station.
• MBTA staff at most subway stations and some bus stations.
• For free at the Charlie Service Center, 296 Washington St, near State and Downtown Crossing stations. It's open Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm. Boston Public Library branches and Boston City Hall also give out free, blank cards.
• Stores across Greater Boston that are part of the MBTA's retail network.

How to add money or a pass:

• At any fare machine, with cash, a credit or debit card, a contactless card or phone, or an EBT card.
• At retail stores and the Charlie Service Center.
• On a bus, or at a street-level Green Line or Mattapan trolley stop, you can add cash value at the fare box, up to $20. You can't buy passes on board.
• Online, you can set up Auto-pay for a monthly pass. You can't check a CharlieCard balance online, so check it at a fare machine.

CharlieTickets come from the fare machines in every subway station. You can load cash value or a pass. Cash value on a CharlieTicket expires 18 months after you buy it.

How to tap a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket: use the gate's own card target or the fare box, not the Charlie reader for bank cards. One beep means a CharlieCard fare was paid, two beeps a CharlieTicket fare. Three beeps mean it didn't work, often because the balance is too low.

Boarding the Green Line at Lechmere, Union Square or the newer stations out to Medford/Tufts with a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket? Tap it at the station's fare machine and choose "validation" first. Keep the receipt.

Paying with cash

• On buses and at street-level Green Line and Mattapan trolley stops, tell the driver you're paying cash and put the fare in the fare box. It takes coins and bills, up to $20. Fare boxes don't give change, so bring exact change.
• In subway stations, pay cash at a fare machine for a CharlieTicket, then tap the ticket at the gate.
• Cash gets no free transfers, so a trip with a change costs more.
• Most MBTA ferries take cash. The East Boston ferry and the Hingham to Rowes Wharf ferry don't.

Passes: 1-day, 7-day and monthly

• The 1-day, 7-day and monthly passes cover the subway, local and express buses and the Silver Line.
• On a CharlieTicket, the 1-day and 7-day passes also cover the Commuter Rail within Zone 1A and inner harbor ferries.
• A 1-day or 7-day pass on a CharlieTicket starts when you buy it. On a CharlieCard, it starts the first time you tap.
• The 1-day pass costs less than 5 subway fares, and the 7-day pass less than 10. If you'll ride fewer times than that, tap to pay as you go. With the 2-hour transfer window, count trips, not train changes.
• Passes can't be refunded once you buy them.

Commuter Rail: mTicket, tickets and the weekend pass

Commuter Rail fares depend on the zone, from $2.40 to $13.25 one way. Tap to pay doesn't work on these trains, and neither does cash value on a CharlieCard. Children 11 and under ride free. Ways to pay:

• The mTicket app (MBTA mTicket on the App Store and Google Play). Buy one-way or round-trip tickets and the weekend pass with a credit or debit card. Activate a ticket just before you board. It stays valid for three hours and can't be turned off.
• Fare machines in every subway station sell one-way and round-trip tickets.
• Ticket windows at North Station, South Station and Back Bay take cash and cards.
• On board. Tell the conductor where you're going and pay in cash or by credit card. This can add a $3 fee if you boarded at a station where you could have bought a ticket.

At North Station or South Station:

1. Buy your ticket before you reach the gates. Both stations have Commuter Rail fare gates, and they don't take tap to pay, so don't plan to buy on board there.
2. At South Station, wait until your track is posted, about 10 minutes before departure, before you go through.
3. At the gate, scan the QR code in mTicket and hold it there for 2-3 seconds, tap your CharlieTicket, or scan the barcode on a paper ticket.
4. Traveling with children 11 and under? Ask the staff to open a gate for them.
5. Show your ticket to the conductor on board. Keep it until your trip is over, because you need it to get out through the gates. Keep a round-trip ticket for the ride back.

The $10 weekend pass covers unlimited Commuter Rail rides on every line on Saturday and Sunday. Buy it in mTicket, at the North Station, South Station or Back Bay ticket windows, or on board. Fare machines and stores don't sell it. It doesn't cover the subway, buses, ferries or special event trains. The MBTA also sells $10 holiday passes, including for Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, and for Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26 to Sunday, November 29, 2026.

MBTA ferries

• Inner harbor ferries, like the Charlestown and East Boston ferries, cost $2.40. The Hingham/Hull ferry costs $9.75 from the inner harbor.
• Tap a card or phone at the reader by the ticket booth or register. On the East Boston ferry, tap as you board.
• You can also pay with the mTicket app, a paper ticket or, on most routes, cash. CharlieCards aren't accepted.
• Ferry docks have no fare gates, so the crew may ask for proof of payment during or at the end of your trip.

Arriving at Logan Airport: what to tap

1. Take the Silver Line SL1 from your terminal. It's free from the airport, so you don't pay to board.
2. At South Station, change to the Red Line. Per the MBTA, that change is free too.
3. Taking the Commuter Rail from South Station? Buy a ticket in mTicket or at the South Station ticket window before the gates.
4. For a bus or the ferry, tap your card or phone as usual. If you want a pass, the fare machines in the terminals and at South Station sell CharlieCards and CharlieTickets.

• Blue Line option. The free Massport shuttle runs from every terminal to Airport station. There, tap at the gate and pay the $2.40 subway fare for the Blue Line.
• Going back to the airport. Pay the $2.40 subway fare, ride the Red Line to South Station, and change to the SL1 there for free.
• Need help? MBTA transit ambassadors in bright red shirts or jackets work at Airport station and can help with fares and directions.

Not sure which way is best to your hotel? Ask Cobblehop and get one route from your terminal, with an alert before your stop.

Kids, seniors, students and reduced fares

Per the MBTA, visitors who are 65 or older or have a disability may qualify for reduced fares, even for a stay of a few days.

• Children 11 and under ride free on every MBTA mode. Groups with 10 or more children must register with the MBTA's field trip form first.
• People 65 and older pay reduced fares with a Senior CharlieCard: $1.10 on the subway and $0.85 on the bus. Apply online, or at the Charlie Service Center with a government photo ID. If you're approved there, you get a temporary card to use until the permanent one arrives. On the Commuter Rail and ferries, you can instead show the conductor or ticket agent a government photo ID that shows you're 65 or older.
• Massachusetts residents 75 and older who don't drive ride free with a Car-Free Seniors CharlieCard. It requires an RMV-issued Mass ID.
• People with disabilities and Medicare cardholders may qualify for a Transportation Access Pass. People who are legally blind ride free with a Blind Access CharlieCard.
• Students. Middle and high school students can get reduced fares with a Student CharlieCard, usually through their school. College students can't get one, but some colleges offer MBTA semester passes.
• Active-duty military ride free. Out of uniform, show a valid military ID to MBTA staff.
• Once you're enrolled in a reduced fare program, you can link it to a contactless card or phone and tap to pay.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Switching cards mid-trip. If you tapped your phone at the first gate, tap the same phone at the next one, or the free transfer won't apply.
• Tapping a CharlieCard on the new reader. CharlieCards don't work on the Charlie readers for bank cards. Tap them on the gate's card target or the fare box.
• Planning to pay on the train at North or South Station. You need a ticket to get through the Commuter Rail gates there.
• Throwing away your Commuter Rail ticket. You need it on the train and to leave through the gates.
• Activating an mTicket too early. A ticket expires three hours after you activate it.
• Looking for the weekend pass at a machine. Machines and stores don't sell it.

Paying for the T: common questions

Official sources

Cobblehop is independent and isn't affiliated with the MBTA, MassDOT or Massport. Fares and payment rules come from the MBTA. Check its pages for the latest fares and changes:

• MBTA: fares overview
• MBTA: subway fares
• MBTA: bus fares
• MBTA: Commuter Rail fares
• MBTA: Commuter Rail fare zones
• MBTA: $10 Commuter Rail weekend and holiday passes
• MBTA: ferry fares
• MBTA: transfers
• MBTA: 2026 fall fare pilots
• MBTA: Tap to Ride
• MBTA: paying with Apple Pay
• MBTA: paying with Google or Samsung Pay
• MBTA: Charlie account features and disputing a charge
• MBTA: CharlieCard
• MBTA: Charlie Service Center
• MBTA: reduced fares
• MBTA: Senior and Car-Free Seniors CharlieCards
• MBTA: Commuter Rail station fare gates
• MBTA: apps, including mTicket
• MBTA: ferry guide
• MBTA: Logan Airport, with fares
• MBTA: Boston visitor's guide to the T

Published October 29, 2026. Fares and payment rules were checked on mbta.com on October 29, 2026. Fares and pilots change, so check the MBTA's fares page before you ride.