commuter rail...chelsea to lynn

[anthonyx26]

I recently moved from Ipswich to East Boston. I had been taking the
CR from Ipswich to Lynn at a cost of $3 each way (39 minute ride).
Same commute to Lynn, this time from Chelsea station (13 min ride) now
costs me $4.75 ea way. Any idea on the logic of why it costs so much
more for my new 13 min ride vs my old 39 min ride? The conductor just
indicated it's because Chelsea is considered in the city zone...but
any logical person would conclude a shorter ride (both time and
distance-wise) should be cheaper.

- anthonyx26

ps - Chelsea station is a bit closer for me and much quicker than
going via the blue line and bus via Wonderland (my s.o. drops me off).

[Jimmy]

I recently moved from Ipswich to East Boston.  I had been taking the
CR from Ipswich to Lynn at a cost of $3 each way (39 minute ride).
Same commute to Lynn, this time from Chelsea station (13 min ride) now
costs me $4.75 ea way.  Any idea on the logic of why it costs so much
more for my new 13 min ride vs my old 39 min ride?  The conductor just
indicated it's because Chelsea is considered in the city zone...but
any logical person would conclude a shorter ride (both time and
distance-wise) should be cheaper.

Yup, Chelsea is Zone 1A. That means on a trip from Chelsea to the
north, you pay the same as if you boarded in North Station.

The flip side is that if you go inbound from Chelsea to North Station,
it only costs $1.70.

Yes, it's illogical. Even if they wanted to charge more per mile for
the most crowded segment, the price of crossing the 1A/1 boundary is
way too high.

Jimmy

[Elmer]

I recently moved from Ipswich to East Boston.  I had been taking the
CR from Ipswich to Lynn at a cost of $3 each way (39 minute ride).
Same commute to Lynn, this time from Chelsea station (13 min ride) now
costs me $4.75 ea way.  Any idea on the logic of why it costs so much
more for my new 13 min ride vs my old 39 min ride?  The conductor just
indicated it's because Chelsea is considered in the city zone...but
any logical person would conclude a shorter ride (both time and
distance-wise) should be cheaper.
- anthonyx26
ps - Chelsea station is a bit closer for me and much quicker than
going via the blue line and bus via Wonderland (my s.o. drops me off).

It's just a form of economic/class discrimination that encourages the
perceived "riff-raff" to use the Blue Line rather than the CR or
certain bus routes. For example, the 441/442 bus costs a lot more to
ride all the way to Haymarket than it does to transfer to the Blue
line at Wonderland. Yet, on the occasions when I've used it, I notice
the same passengers who got off the bus at Wonderland, getting on the
Green Line at Government Center.

The 441/442 bus provides a (usually more comfortable and sometimes
faster) one-seat ride for the more affluent patrons in Swampscott and
Marblehead. However, because of the significantly higher fare, most
people get off and transfer to the Blue Line. The same pricing
strategy is used for the Commuter Rail. If you're coming from Lynn,
it's much less expensive to take the bus to Wonderland and transfer to
the Blue Line (a trip taking nearly an hour) than it is to take the
fifteen-minute ride on the Commuter Rail.

From Chelsea station, you have the option of taking the "riff-raff
special" 111 bus, but your (less comfortable than CR) commute will
take considerably longer than 13 minutes.

Elmer

[Paul Rogers]

Post by Elmer
It's just a form of economic/class discrimination that encourages the
perceived "riff-raff" to use the Blue Line

That's kind of depressing.

Post by Elmer
rather than the CR or
certain bus routes. For example, the 441/442 bus costs a lot more to
ride all the way to Haymarket than it does to transfer to the Blue
line at Wonderland.

I honestly have not yet tried the commute via the blue line and
441/442 to Lynn. It seems like it would take a lot longer. Is there
a free transfer from the blue line to the bus? I'm guessing no free
transfer on bus to blue line. Are the wait times for the 441/442
reasonable?

Of course all this would be resolved by a blue line extension to
Lynn....I can dream, right ;-)

- anthonyx26

[Elmer]

Post by Paul Rogers

Post by Elmer
It's just a form of economic/class discrimination that encourages the
perceived "riff-raff" to use the Blue Line

That's kind of depressing.

Post by Elmer
rather than the CR or
certain bus routes. For example, the 441/442 bus costs a lot more to
ride all the way to Haymarket than it does to transfer to the Blue
line at Wonderland.

I honestly have not yet tried the commute via the blue line and
441/442 to Lynn. It seems like it would take a lot longer. Is there
a free transfer from the blue line to the bus? I'm guessing no free
transfer on bus to blue line. Are the wait times for the 441/442
reasonable?
Of course all this would be resolved by a blue line extension to
Lynn....I can dream, right ;-)
- anthonyx26

The 441/442 presently carries much of the ridership that would (in our dreams) be served by the Blue Line extension to Lynn. So as you might expect, it's often very crowded. Weekday (scheduled) wait times are about a half an hour, more frequent during rush hour. Because these routes run all the way from Marblehead to Haymarket and back, they often get off schedule, especially going in and out of Boston. However, the 441/442 busses are GPS tracked in real time (via NextBus) so you can see exactly where they are at all times.

Whether or not it's faster than the CR depends on the time of day and your ultimate destination (if there's no train for over an hour, taking the bus will probably be faster). You can transfer to the Blue Line from the 441/442 as a normal "Local-Bus Transfer to Subway" fare. If you stay on the 441/442 all the way to Haymarket, you're charged the more expensive the "Inner Express Bus" fare. (driver asks how far you're going) There are other 4xx busses that run from Haymarket (and Downtown Crossing) to Lynn (and ultimately Salem) via the Tobin Bridge, so look at the MBTA website and see if any of them suit your needs.

Happily, I live on Oak Island now, which is close enough that I can walk (but usually bike) to Wonderland.

Elmer

[Jimmy]

Post by Elmer
You can transfer to the Blue Line from the 441/442 as a normal "Local-Bus Transfer to Subway"
fare.

In other words, you pay $1.70 total for a one-way trip involving the
subway and a local bus trip (*if* you use a CharlieCard.) $1.70 and
then a free transfer for subway->bus; $1.25 and then a 45 cent step-up
for bus->subway.

Post by Elmer
If you stay on the 441/442 all the way to Haymarket, you're charged the more expensive
the "Inner Express Bus" fare. (driver asks how far you're going)

Are passengers generally honest about this? Those routes probably
have the most local traffic of any MBTA express buses, because of the
Blue Line connection and North Shore-Lynn trips.

Jimmy

[Elmer]

Post by Jimmy

Post by Elmer
You can transfer to the Blue Line from the 441/442 as a normal "Local-Bus Transfer to Subway"
fare.

In other words, you pay $1.70 total for a one-way trip involving the
subway and a local bus trip (*if* you use a CharlieCard.) $1.70 and
then a free transfer for subway->bus; $1.25 and then a 45 cent step-up
for bus->subway.

Post by Elmer
If you stay on the 441/442 all the way to Haymarket, you're charged the more expensive
the "Inner Express Bus" fare. (driver asks how far you're going)

Are passengers generally honest about this? Those routes probably
have the most local traffic of any MBTA express buses, because of the
Blue Line connection and North Shore-Lynn trips.
Jimmy

These busses are non-stop between Bell Circle and Haymarket. Most people get off at Wonderland, so the driver has plenty of time to check and see who's still on the bus. I've not witnessed any confrontations going Inbound. However passengers frequently will argue with drivers about paying the Express fare when boarding Outbound at Haymarket.

Elmer

[Jimmy]

Post by Elmer

Are passengers generally honest about this?  Those routes probably
have the most local traffic of any MBTA express buses, because of the
Blue Line connection and North Shore-Lynn trips.

These busses are non-stop between Bell Circle and Haymarket. Most people get off at Wonderland, so the driver has plenty of time to check and see who's still on the bus. I've not witnessed any confrontations going Inbound.

But can the driver remember who paid how much?

Post by Elmer
However passengers frequently will argue with drivers about paying the Express fare when boarding Outbound at Haymarket.

That's surprising. Higher fares for express trips have existed for
decades on these routes, and there's no ambiguity here: the bus gets
right on the highway.

I took a look at the T's interactive trip planner. There's a bus stop
marker for "Sumner Tunnel Entrance (Not a service stop)". Besides
exemplifying the total stupidity of the T's IT department, this
reminded me of some express bus features I liked on a recent trip to
Seattle.

They have express routes all over the place, including some from one
suburb to another without going downtown. They run frequently, even
off peak.

And they've done a great job of putting bus stations right on the side
of highways, so the multiple routes passing by can stop without a big
delay for through passengers. If the T did something similar, there
could be express bus stations at places like the Sumner toll plaza,
and near office parks where highway routes currently pass without
stopping.

Jimmy