BAT rolls out $25 monthly pass for students
BROCKTON – As part of a slate of reforms aimed at modernizing fare collection on the region’s bus system, the Brockton Area Transit Authority has created a discounted monthly pass for students ranging from middle school to college.
Student Charlie Cards will cost $25, entitling riders to 31 days of unlimited trips on local bus routes, including transfers to other local lines. BAT’s Route 12 bus to Ashmont will still cost students about half the augmented $2.10 fare charged on that line, which is the system’s only direct connection to Boston.
The new option expands BAT’s current student pass program, which already allowed students to pay half fare per ride, by rolling up discounts at the monthly level. Previously, students who rode the bus frequently were required to pay the full $40 adult price for a monthly pass.
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The student Charlie Cards can be purchased at the BAT Intermodal Centre’s customer service office at 10 Commercial St. and updated on the centre’s fare vending machines. Administrator Michael Lambert said BAT officials will also be visiting local schools like Massasoit Community College, Bridgewater State University and Brockton High School to sign students up for passes.
Student Charlie Cards will be free with the purchase of the $25 monthly pass, and $5 without, according to Lambert. To purchase a pass, students of all ages will need to provide a school ID, and anyone enrolled in college is expected to provide proof of registration.
Once they’re issued, student Charlie Cards will be marked with the name and photo of each student.
“The pass is designed to not only help students get to school, jobs and around the city, but also to create future transit riders,” Lambert said.
The creation of the monthly student pass is part of a systemwide push to modernize and standardize fare collection on the city’s buses. An app enabling customers to pay bus fare using their phones is expected to come online this spring, according to Lambert.
Both fare collection initiatives were paid for using funds from a $116,000 grant provided by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Brockton received the smallest of 13 grants awarded to the state’s regional transportation authorities on a competitive basis. Some of the other grants went toward expanding other bus systems’ hours of operation and running buses more frequently on newly established routes.
“This grant program helps support regional transit authorities to launch projects to enhance their existing services and implement best practices,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a press release announcing the grant awards. “This funding will also help RTAs develop innovative plans to provide more reliable service to riders across the Commonwealth.”
Staff writer Ben Berke can be reached at bberke@enterprisenews.com