MBTA’s unlimited weekend commuter-rail pass now permanently $10

Unlimited weekend commuter-rail passes will now be $10 permanently, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced.

The agency has been trying out the offer off and on since late 2018 in a bid to raise ridership (and hopefully reduce congestion elsewhere), and has decided to make it the norm for all routes across all zones rom the first train on Saturdays to the last trains on Sundays. The move does not apply to special event trains.

The passes are available on the MBTA’s mTicket app, onboard, and at ticket windows at Back Bay Station, South Station, and North Station. In some cases, the $10 flat fare means significant savings. A roundtrip ticket from South Station to Providence, for instance, is $24.50.

The move comes less than a week after the MBTA hiked T and commuter rail fares for the fourth time since 2012. And it comes three weeks after a Red Line derailment cast a particularly harsh spotlight on the MBTA’s infrastructure and equipment needs.