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A Reminder, T Riders: The MBTA Is Free On Friday
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)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2015/04/0127_snow_09rl.jpg)
![An out-of-service MBTA bus rolls through Somerville after several snowstorms in February. (Josh Reynolds/AP)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2015/03/0311_mbta-issues.jpg)
![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)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2015/02/0210_snowtransport_rl06.jpg)
![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)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2015/02/0211_snow-commute_rl01.jpg)
![Commuters wait for a MBTA bus in Central Square in Cambridge Thursday morning. (Zeninjor Enwemeka/WBUR)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2015/02/20150212_090823.jpg)
![The MBTA is laying out a plan to avid a total shutdown of service next winter. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2015/03/0331_green-line.jpg)
This article was originally published on April 23, 2015.