Would South Coast Rail be the cheapest way to commute to Boston? Let's run the numbers.
FALL RIVER — In a few weeks, citizens in Fall River and New Bedford will vote on whether they’d like their cities to join the MBTA, formally allowing service to begin in fall 2023 when the South Coast Rail project’s first phase is complete.
This vote, to be held during the Nov. 8 regular election, caps a decades-long process to bring South Coast Rail to fruition. It would connect Fall River and New Bedford to the MBTA for the first time, and restore passenger rail service to the two cities for the first time since 1959, when the Old Colony Railroad system stopped its passenger service.
With commuter rail service gone for so long, it’s possible many citizens in the SouthCoast haven’t ridden a passenger train in decades, or maybe have never ridden an MBTA commuter train at all. Before the vote, let’s answer a few questions and compare the potential rail line with different commuting options that are already available.
Nearly ready to roll: South Coast Rail's Fall River station is 90% complete — here's when trains hit the tracks
How much is a rail ticket going to cost?
This isn’t known for sure yet. MBTA commuter rail tickets are priced by zone, depending on how far from Boston your station is. The zones are 1A (Boston and the immediate area) and then 1 through 10.
We can make some educated guesses, though. Both Fall River and New Bedford trains will go through Middleboro/Lakeville, which is in Zone 8 — so Fall River and New Bedford would be at least in Zone 8. But Fall River and New Bedford will be among the farthest stations from Boston in the MBTA system. Based on the distance of other existing MBTA stations, Fall River and New Bedford might be in Zone 9 or even 10.
Here’s a price list based on a couple of possibilities:
Zone 8: $12.25 each way
Zone 9: $12.75 each way
Zone 10: $13.25 one way
If you’re not traveling the whole distance — for example, you want to go from Fall River to Bridgewater — then you pay a lower fare based on how many zones of travel you cover. The MBTA has a list of interzone prices here.
Are there cheaper rates?
Yes. Get a monthly pass if you’re going to ride regularly, which offers unlimited rides for a calendar month on all MBTA rail, subway, bus and ferry lines. For Zones 8 to 10, they’d range from $388 to $426 a month — if you figure two trips a day for 20 weekdays a month, that equals $9.70 to $10.65 per trip.
Seniors, the disabled, some students and others qualify for reduced fares, which are a little less than half the full price.
The MBTA is free for:
Children under 11
People who are legally blind
Active-duty military personnel (show your military ID if in plainclothes)
State Police troopers, municipal police and firefighters when in uniform (plainclothes detectives can show a badge to ride for free)
Construction ongoing: Work is wrapping up on the South Coast Rail Station in Fall River
When are the trains going to run?
An exact train schedule is not yet known.
How long would the train ride be?
According to South Coast Rail officials, current estimates are that a trip would take 90 minutes.
Boston is an hour away by car. Isn’t that longer than driving yourself?
Maybe not. It depends on when you’re driving and where you’re going. According to Google Maps, which can estimate travel times based on past traffic patterns, typical weekday morning travel time going to Boston lasts from 1 hour 5 minutes up to 2 hours 30 minutes.
That weekday morning rush hour lasts from about 5:30 to 8:45 a.m. It eases up only a bit after 10 a.m., from a little over an hour up to 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Driving back from Boston, weekday evening rush hour lasts from about 2 to 6:45 p.m., where a drive is estimated to take up to 2 hours 40 minutes.
So it’s possible, even likely, that driving could take the same amount of time or even much longer. But this is a general scenario — daily traffic is unpredictable. As they say, your mileage may vary.
Building up: Two more apartment developments are in the works for Fall River. Here's what to expect.
I just want the cheapest, fastest way to get to and from Boston. What is it?
This isn't intended to cover every single option. And no numbers will ever be exact, because there are so many variables. But once again, we can make some educated guesses.
Let’s say you’re an average person who has to get to Boston for 9 in the morning, then leave at 5 the same day, on a weekday...
South Coast Rail train
We don't know the exact train schedule, so let’s assume we'll have a train that can reach Boston in time for 9 a.m. If you can't walk or catch a ride somehow, you’ll park a car at the train station. Parking lot fees haven’t been set yet, and they vary from station to station, but parking at the Middleboro/Lakeville station is $4 a day during the week — we'll assume that’s the price here too. Once you hop on the train, tickets would be $12.25 to $13.25 each way.
TRAVEL TIME: 3 hours
COST: $28.50 to $30.50
NOTES: The time is a few minutes longer than a bus-only route from New Bedford, but likely cheaper — commuter rail tickets are cheaper than bus tickets.
Drive yourself
Nine-to-fivers are going to hit rush hour, so Google Maps says you should hit the road around 6:30 a.m. AAA says gas prices in Bristol County are averaging $3.48 a gallon. We’ll make things easy and say the trip is exactly 50 miles, and you’re in a car that gets 25 miles a gallon — that's two gallons of gas, $6.96. Factor in idling in traffic. Some estimates say you can waste about half a gallon of fuel per hour, and you'll be sitting in traffic an extra hour and a half. That takes us to $9.57. When you get to Boston, you’ll have to park the car. Parking lots and garages can vary widely; you’ll park in the Boston Common Garage, a pretty central location. That’s $28 for the day. When you leave at 5 p.m., the trip back takes two hours, so we’re at another $6.96 for gas plus an hour of idling time.
TRAVEL TIME: 4 hours 30 minutes
COST: $46.27
NOTES: Obviously, this is a general example. If you have a car that gets better gas mileage, or you hit less traffic, you can improve the cost a bit. There are a few things, however, you can never improve: The price of gas is what it is, 50 miles will always be 50 miles, and until we get self-driving cars you can't take your eyes off the road.
Bus-only from Fall River
There’s no direct bus line from Fall River to Boston, so we’ll have to cobble together some options. If you bring a car to Fall River's bus terminal on Fourth Street, you'll pay $10 a day to park it, then hop on RIPTA’s 24L bus at 6:35 a.m., which costs $2. You'll get in to Providence just after 7 a.m., walk a few blocks to the convention center in time to catch a $20 Peter Pan bus at 7:15, which is scheduled to arrive in Boston at 8:30. You can't take the same route back — you'll catch a Dattco bus ($16) at 5:30 p.m., which gets to New Bedford at 6:45, then hop on a SRTA bus that leaves at 7 for Fall River via UMass. It's an hourlong trip. You’ll end up at the Fall River bus terminal at 8 p.m.
TRAVEL TIME: 4 hours 30 minutes
COST: $49.50
NOTES: The travel time makes for an incredibly long day, the cost is high, and transfer times are tight.
Bus-only from New Bedford
It’s easier to get there from here. Assuming you have to park a car at the bus station, then you’re paying $12 a day at the Elm Street Garage (or you could apply for a $40 monthly pass to park at the bus terminal, but there’s a waiting list). The Dattco bus ($16) leaves at 7 a.m. and gets in to South Station at 8:30. Coming back, another Dattco leaves at 5:30 p.m. and gets in at 6:45.
TRAVEL TIME: 2 hours 45 minutes
COST: $44
NOTES: This has the shortest scheduled travel time, but the higher price of bus tickets makes it not the most economical.
Bus-train-car from Fall River
Without South Coast Rail, you can still get the MBTA flavor by riding the commuter rail from Providence. First you’ll have to take RIPTA’s 24L bus at 6:35 a.m. from the Fourth Street bus terminal (it’s $10 a day to park). You’ll get to Providence just after 7, then hoof it to the train station and grab the 7:15 commuter rail from Providence to South Station, and arrive at 8:27. When it's time to head back home, you can grab the 5:40 p.m. commuter train from South Station and wind up in Providence at 6:52 p.m. — where you will then be stranded, because there’s no public transportation back to Fall River at that hour. You’re either walking (six and a half hours, but it’s free and fresh air is good for you!), or getting bailed out by a taxi or Uber. According to Uber's website, that’ll set you back an estimated $26.80.
TRAVEL TIME: 3 hours 29 minutes
COST: $51.05
NOTES: Is it really a commute if you can't get all the way home at the end?
Uber from Fall River or New Bedford
While you've got the app open, let's figure this out just for fun. If you have the cash to spend — and a driver willing to make the trip — you could call an Uber and see if someone is willing to deal with your commute instead. The travel time would take as long as driving yourself, obviously, but at least you’d be free to take your eyes off the road, nap, get some work done, watch TV on your phone, twiddle your thumbs, whatever. Or, you’d have plenty of time to learn all about your new best friend, your driver. You’ll probably be stuck with him a while.
TRAVEL TIME: 4 hours 30 minutes
COST FROM FALL RIVER: $133.74
COST FROM NEW BEDFORD: $147.80
NOTES: At about $35,000 a year, this is among your least-practical options.
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: How South Coast Rail compares with Boston commuting options
