(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 10.)
PORTLAND, Maine — Commuters will pay more but occasional users will not see an increase when new rates go into effect for Amtrak´s Downeaster next month.
Commuter tickets will increase by 7 percent, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority announced. The increases will only affect monthly commuters and 10-Ride passes.
John Englert, the rail authority´s executive director, said monthly passes still work out to less than $9 per trip between Portland and Boston.
One-way tickets will remain $21, the same rate that has been in effect since the service began in December 2001, and midweek discounts are available to passengers making a same-day round trip.
FlexPass tickets, which allow riders to make six one-way trips on either the Downeaster or on a Concord Trailways bus, remain $99.