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A Reminder, T Riders: The MBTA Is Free On Friday

Updated April 23, 2015
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This article is more than 8 years old.

Put your Charlie Cards away, the MBTA will be free on Friday.

It's a show of goodwill from the beleaguered transit system after riders endured massive service failures during a brutal winter season.

All modes of the MBTA will be free Friday for what the T is calling "customer appreciation day." The T is also partnering with 16 businesses and museums to offer riders discounts on food, retail and local attractions. The deals include everything from a free doughnut at Dunkin' Donuts to $2 off admission at the New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo and the Museum of Fine Arts.

"I hope to see a lot of people take advantage of this unique opportunity to use the MBTA free of charge," state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said in a statement. “We have partnered with our friends in the business community to offer T users some affordable and entertaining activities throughout the region.”

The MBTA is also offering weekly and monthly passes for the month of May at a 15 percent discount. That deal lasts through May 15.

The free fares on Friday and the discounted passes will cost the agency about $5 million in lost revenue.

All of this is an effort by the T to give a little something back to riders who dealt with delays, suspended service and headaches this winter.

And, in case you forgot — or mentally blocked it out — here's a look at some of the winter woes the T is looking to make up for on Friday:

A Green Line train runs along Commonwealth Avenue in late January to clear the tracks of snow. The MBTA's struggles this winter led to a proposed overhaul of the transit system. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A Green Line train ran along Commonwealth Avenue in late January to clear the tracks of snow. The MBTA's struggles this winter led to a proposed overhaul of the transit system. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
An out-of-service MBTA bus rolls through Somerville after several snowstorms in February. (Josh Reynolds/AP)
An out-of-service MBTA bus rolled through Somerville after several snowstorms in February. (Josh Reynolds/AP)
The entrance to the Central Square Red Line station was chained closed Tuesday as the MBTA suspended all rail service following Monday's storm. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
The entrance to the Central Square Red Line station was chained closed as the MBTA suspended all rail service following a February storm. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Commuters wait for the Red Line in Cambridge's busy Porter Square station Wednesday morning. MBTA rail service is up again, but it's running a limited schedule. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Commuters waited for the Red Line in Cambridge's busy Porter Square station in early February. After MBTA service was suspended, the rail service was up again but at a limited schedule. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Commuters wait for a MBTA bus in Central Square in Cambridge Thursday morning. (Zeninjor Enwemeka/WBUR)
Commuters waited for a bus in Central Square in Cambridge in February. (Zeninjor Enwemeka/WBUR)
The MBTA is laying out a plan to avid a total shutdown of service next winter. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
The MBTA is laying out a plan to avoid a total shutdown in service during storms next winter. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

This article was originally published on April 23, 2015.

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Zeninjor Enwemeka Senior Business Reporter
Zeninjor Enwemeka is a senior business reporter who covers business, tech and culture as part of WBUR's Bostonomix team, which focuses on the innovation economy.

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