Bus Fares | Fares Overview | MBTA
- ️Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Local Bus One-Way
Local buses travel within Boston and communities in the immediate area. Silver Line routes SL4 and SL5 are local bus routes. Routes SL1, SL2, and SL3 are priced as subway fares.
Express Bus One-Way
Express Buses travel in suburbs and communities outside the city and make stops in downtown Boston.
Note: Contactless payment readers on Express Buses only charge Express Bus fare. To pay Local Bus fare on an Express Bus, notify the bus operator and pay with cash or a CharlieCard at the farebox.
Tap to Ride
Tap to Ride
The MBTA is improving the way you pay for transit with the introduction of contactless payment on bus and light rail routes.
Transfers
Subway and Bus
For Local Bus, Express Bus, Silver Line, and/or Subway, transfer up to two times and pay only the cost of the highest-priced service.
Commuter Rail and Ferry
Certain monthly Commuter Rail passes printed on a CharlieTicket include unlimited transfers to any mode. Single-ride Commuter Rail and ferry tickets generally do not include free transfers.
Note: Transfers are not available with store value CharlieTickets or cash payments. Transfer rules still apply to travel with contactless payment.
Passes
1-Day and 7-day passes purchased on CharlieTickets are valid from the date and time of purchase. Those purchased on CharlieCards are valid from the first tap at a fare box or fare gate.
You can buy monthly passes at fare vending machines starting the 15th of the prior month or you can sign up for Auto-pay.
How to Pay Your Bus Fare
First, choose how you’ll pay your fare
The right way to pay for you depends on how often you ride the T.
You can also pay in cash or add cash value to a CharlieCard at onboard fare boxes, or use your EBT card to load value or passes onto a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket at fare vending machines, the Charlie Service Center, or MBTA retail sales locations that accept EBT cards.
Then, choose where to buy your ticket or pass
At fare vending machines, you can add cash value or 1-day, 7-day, or monthly passes to a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket. If you don’t already have a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket, your purchase will be printed on a new CharlieTicket.
Fare vending machines are located at all subway stations and at the Lynn and Worcester/Union Commuter Rail stations.
Most machines accept cash, major credit/debit cards, and EBT cards. Some machines only accept credit/debit/EBT cards and are marked to indicate that they don’t accept cash.
You can add up to $20 in cash value to a CharlieCard at onboard fare boxes.
At select stores throughout Greater Boston and Providence, you can get a CharlieCard and load it with cash value or a pass. You can also add passes to a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket you already have.
When you’re ready to board the bus
CharlieCard
Simply tap your CharlieCard on the fare box target to pay.
CharlieTicket
With the orange arrow facing up and away from you, insert your ticket into the fare box. Your ticket will be returned after the machine reads it.
Tip! Fare boxes and faregates beep to indicate if your fare payment was accepted:
- 1 beep means your CharlieCard fare was paid.
- 2 beeps means your CharlieTicket fare was paid.
- 3 beeps means that the machine was not able to read your ticket or that there wasn’t enough money to pay the fare. You can try again or visit a fare vending machine to reload your ticket or pass.
On all MBTA buses, you can add cash value to your CharlieCard with coins or bills, up to $20.
Note: You cannot buy or reload 1-day, 7-day, or monthly passes at onboard fare boxes.
To pay your fare:
- Tell the driver you need to add value to your CharlieCard.
- Press the white button in the upper right corner on the fare box.
- Tap your CharlieCard on the fare box target into the machine with the orange arrow facing up and away from you.
- Insert cash or coins up to your desired value. Change is not returned from onboard fare boxes. You can load value and keep your change on your CharlieCard instead.
- Press the white button again.
- Tap your CharlieCard to complete the transaction.
- Tap your CharlieCard one more time to pay your fare.
View a tutorial to learn how to load a CharlieCard with cash onboard buses
On all MBTA buses, you can pay your fare in cash with coins or bills, up to $20.
To pay your fare, tell the driver you are paying in cash, and insert the amount displayed on the fare box.
If a fare box takes your cash without accepting payment please call 617-222-3200 for assistance.
Note: We encourage riders to pay with exact change. If you expect to pay more than the required one-way fare, you can load cash onto a CharlieCard from the onboard dispenser. You can use the remaining amount to pay your fare on another mode of transit, or reload it at a fare vending machine.
For issues with payment or purchase at any fare point please call 617-222-3200.