To the editor:
One thing that hasn’t made sense to me since I moved to Lynn is why if I take the bus to the blue line and take that train into town it costs me $2.40 and if I time the commuter rail I have to pay 7. I don’t think it should be this way. Why is one form of transportation more than the other? Riders are still going to the same place. This practice encourages riders to pack buses, which reduces efficiency when buses are stopped awaiting people to pay fares meanwhile the commuter rail doesn’t have these same onboarding issues because fares are either collected at north station or while the train is already moving.
According to a 2021 presentation to its Financial Control Board, the MBTA put Lynn in the 1a zone during the pandemic but pulled back because they didn’t see a change in bus crowding. I’d argue that the months after the height of the pandemic weren’t a good time to conduct a data sample. Nevertheless, it doesn’t make sense to me why Lynn isn’t designated in the 1a zone. Chelsea and the neighborhoods along the Fairmount commuter rail line, also have commuter rail stops in the 1a district. Lynn should as well:
This would save families in our community who take the commuter rail monthly $142 a month. We should encourage the T to do this.
Atty. Peter Christopher
Law Office of Peter Christopher
Lynn
