How do I use my Jawnt Pass to ride the MBTA?

Note: This article is intended for Harvard employees. If you’re looking for general support, visit the Jawnt Help Center.

Jawnt Pass and the MBTA are a smart combination for Boston area commuters. Whether you ride a few times a week or every day, you can use your Jawnt Pass for all types of transit payments:

Read on to learn more about these options and which one is right for you.

On this page:

Which option you choose depends on how often you commute and which travel modes you use.

💡 Harvard offers a Commute Calculator that helps you determine which option is best based on your specific commuting needs. Enter your transportation mode and how many days per week you commute to see which option will save you the most money.

The MBTA’s new Tap to Ride system allows you to pay for the bus, subway, and ferry by simply tapping a physical or mobile card at the fare gate or reader as you board.

💡 You may also hear this referred to as “tap to pay”, “pay-per-ride”, or “pay as you go”.

Jawnt Pass is a contactless debit card, so all you need to do is tap your physical or mobile Jawnt Pass at the reader to ride. That’s it! Just pay for each ride as needed.

If you prefer to buy a monthly pass, read on for more information about where and how to purchase monthly passes.

The MBTA offers many different monthly pass options, and many different ways to purchase them:

No matter how you purchase your monthly pass, you can use your Jawnt Pass debit card to pay and save money on your purchase.

⚠️ If you buy your Commuter Rail monthly pass at a fare vending machine, your pass includes a LinkPass for unlimited subway and bus rides during the same month. Passes purchased via the mTicket app do not, and are valid only for Commuter Rail Travel.

The MBTA sells calendar-based monthly passes. Sales for each new month begin on the 15th of the prior month. For example:

Your Jawnt Pass will be funded by the 22nd of each month so you can purchase your monthly transit pass in advance. If you’re ordering your monthly pass online, be sure to submit your order by the 22nd of the month so you receive your pass in the mail on time.

You can buy an MBTA monthly pass in the form of a CharlieCard. CharlieCards can be purchased at fare vending machines at all subway stations (Red, Blue, Orange Lines), underground Green Line stations, and select Commuter Rail stations, including North and South Stations. Learn more on the MBTA website.

If you don’t have a CharlieCard yet:

If you already have a CharlieCard:

For bus and subway passes, allow 24–48 hours for your pass to load onto your CharlieCard. Commuter Rail passes activate immediately.

If you regularly use a monthly pass, we highly recommend submitting your monthly pass order through MyCharlie and setting up auto-pay using your Jawnt Pass. That way, you don’t have to worry about re-loading your pass every month.

To submit an order and set up auto-pay:

That’s it! You can view or update your auto-pay settings any time by going to Auto-pay, then Your auto-pay subscriptions.

⚠️ An important note: Bus and subway Auto-pay passes cannot be replaced through MyCharlie. Please call 1-888-844-0355 to request a replacement.

If you ride the ferry or Commuter Rail and don’t often take the subway or bus, you can buy individual tickets and passes through the mTicket app, available for iPhone or Android. With the mTicket app, you don’t need to worry about keeping track of a physical card; just show your phone to the conductor to ride.

However, if you plan to use mTicket for monthly passes, there some limitations you should be aware of:

For these reasons, we recommend purchasing a CharlieCard for monthly passes, instead of using the mTicket app.

To buy a ticket in the mTicket app:

To finish, tap “Accept & Pay”, and be sure to activate your ticket before boarding the train.

Bonus: Why is it called a CharlieCard? The name comes from a 1950s folk song about “Charlie,” a man who couldn’t afford to get off the train. Read the story or listen to the song.