Public Transit—How to Do It

Over the weekend I was in Boston visiting my daughter. Boston and Cambridge are among my favorite places. They are attractive, walkable, dynamic—and, most importantly for this article, easy to get around in. Bostonians may not agree, but the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is an example of how to do public transit well, especially within the city and immediate suburbs.

How do they do it? Let me count the ways:

• A simple, affordable fare structure. Within the city and nearby suburbs, bus fares are 90¢; subway fares are $1.25. Transfers between buses and from one subway line to another are free. Transfers between buses and subways cost 35¢, and they are more complex than they should be, but on the whole, a new transit user in Boston can grasp the fare structure quickly and will find it reasonably priced.
• Simple and fast fare collection. One of the most unattractive parts of using public transit is the long lines at bus stops and subway ticket booths. Like many European cities, the MBTA has reduced delays in fare collection both by simplifying the fare structure and by using a simpler system at the collection point. Bus fare boxes are locked to discourage holdups, but MBTA doesn't insist on running paper money through a scanner that may or may not work. Drivers take bills and put them through a slot into a collection box. At subway stops, riders purchase tokens at the ticket booth, which is separate from the subway turnstile. They then use the token to open the subway turnstile. Lines at the turnstiles can still be long at rush hour, but separating token purchase from entry to the system speeds up everybody's ride.
• Easy navigation. Even new users will find MBTA buses and subways easy to navigage, at least within the city and nearby suburbs. Bus stops have maps and schedules. Subway stops have schematic maps of the system similar to the famous map of the London Underground. Most U.S. subway systems have schematic maps, but bus maps and schedules at bus stops are rare in the U.S. Boston is the only place I have seen them.
• A diverse ridership. Diversity of ridership is not, of course, within MBTA's control, but a simple and user-friendly system encourages riders of all social and economic backgrounds to use the system rather than struggle with downtown Boston traffic and parking. MBTA's buses and subways are well-used at most hours by a crowd ranging from students and young families of all races to MIT and Harvard professors. No one is likely to feel out of place on the T (the local short name for the system). This is not always true of in-city transit systems.
  

MBTA's ease of use and simplicity are less evident in its extensive network of commuter rail, but this is a common problem with local transit authorities who manage commuter rail systems. Most commuter rail systems predate the transit authorities, require higher capital investment, and are affiliated with different unions. Fares on them are therefore higher and more complex, including a system of fare zones that is the antithesis of a user-friendly fare structure, but is a necessity given the higher cost of maintaining rail systems.

Still, with the exception of the rail system, the T may be the easiest-to-use transit system in the U.S. If it is not quite up to European standards, it is very close.