South Coast Rail's half-price monthly pass ends Nov. 30, with the Zone 8 pass set to return to $388

SOUTH COAST Riders on South Coast Rail have one more month of half-price monthly passes. The MBTA says its 50% discount on monthly Commuter Rail passes, which began in June and was extended through the fall, ends Nov. 30.

The line's six new stations, Middleborough, East Taunton, Freetown, Fall River Depot, Church Street and New Bedford, are all in fare Zone 8. The MBTA lists the Zone 8 monthly pass at $388, or $378 bought on the mTicket app. Half off the $388 list price is $194 for a November pass, and when the discount ends a December pass goes back to the full amount.

Through Nov. 30, monthly passholders can also bring one companion on weekends for $1 each way, bought in the mTicket app, the MBTA says, and that offer ends the same day as the pass discount.

What a trip costs

A one-way ride between any of the six new stations and South Station costs $12.25, and the reduced fare is $6. A full-price monthly pass costs about the same as 16 round trips at $24.50. The half-price offer never applied to the MBTA's $10 weekend pass, which is good for unlimited rides on Saturdays, Sundays and select holidays.

Who is riding

The Fall River/New Bedford Line averaged 9,376 estimated boardings each weekday in April and May, the latest full months in the MBTA's posted ridership data, which runs through June 24. That made it the fifth busiest of the MBTA's 12 Commuter Rail lines on weekdays, behind Providence/Stoughton, Framingham/Worcester, Newburyport/Rockport and Franklin/Foxboro.

Weekday boardings were about 7% lower than in April and May 2025, the line's first full months of service to Fall River and New Bedford, when they averaged 10,077. Across all Commuter Rail lines, weekday boardings rose about 11% over the same stretch. The line still carried about 27% more weekday riders than the old Middleborough/Lakeville Line did in April and May 2024, when it averaged 7,384.

Weekend riding moved the other way in the MBTA's estimates, with boardings on Saturdays and Sundays averaging 4,489 a day in April and May, up from 2,737 a year earlier. Weekend boardings have topped 4,000 a day in every month since November 2025, after running near 2,500 in September and October 2025.

The figures cover the whole line, from South Station through Quincy, Braintree and Brockton to the South Coast, and the MBTA describes them as estimates based on scaled conductor counts.

The schedule this month

The MBTA's Fall/Winter Commuter Rail schedule took effect Monday, Oct. 26. Train times on the Fall River/New Bedford Line did not change, the MBTA said, but every train now carries a four-digit number. The 6:45 a.m. weekday train from South Station to Fall River, for example, is now train 8101.

On weekdays the line runs 32 direct trips to or from South Station, plus 25 shorter connecting trains that link Fall River and New Bedford with East Taunton, where riders change between the two branches. On weekends it runs 26 direct trips, about every two hours.

• Earliest weekday trains to Boston: 4:16 a.m. from New Bedford, reaching South Station at 5:49 a.m., and 5 a.m. from Fall River Depot, reaching South Station at 6:34 a.m.
• Latest weekday trains home: 10:35 p.m. from South Station to Fall River Depot and 11:59 p.m. to New Bedford.
• Weekends: the first train leaves New Bedford at 4:47 a.m. and the first from Fall River Depot at 6:23 a.m., and the last trains leave South Station at 10:10 p.m. for Fall River Depot and 11:50 p.m. for New Bedford.

Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, is not on the MBTA's list of holidays with changed service. The MBTA has not yet posted its service plan for Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, and its holiday page says details are still to come.

Parking at the stations

The six new stations have 1,725 parking spaces in all: 500 at Middleborough, 387 at East Taunton, 355 at Church Street, 220 at Fall River Depot, 150 at New Bedford station and 113 at Freetown, according to the MBTA's station records.

Five of the lots are owned by the MBTA, run by Keolis Commuter Services and charge $4 a day on weekdays and $2 on weekends, paid through the PayByPhone app or by invoice, with no overnight parking. The lot at New Bedford station is owned by the New Bedford Port Authority and run by Seastreak. It charges $5 a day and $15 overnight, paid by text message or by an invoice in the mail, and overnight parking is allowed except during snow.

How to weigh in

The MBTA is writing a long-range plan to keep turning its Commuter Rail system into a Regional Rail system with more frequent service in both directions, and it is holding two online public meetings on the plan, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, and 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17. American Sign Language interpretation will be offered at both, the MBTA says, and other languages can be requested in advance at CapitalEngagement@mbta.com.

Riders passing through Boston can also stop by an MBTA pop-up on the plan at South Station from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Comments can be left on the MBTA's Regional Rail modernization planning page, and the agency says the next phase of public input will come in spring 2027.

Riders with questions about passes, schedules or parking can call MBTA Customer Support at 617-222-3200, Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.