It’s a ritual of most Boston University and Boston College students, enacted on lazy Monday mornings as well as on big-party Friday nights: taking the free outbound ride on the B Line, up through Allston and beyond. The elderly on the C Line use the free ride as well. As do the Northeastern students on the E Line, and the Fenway fans on the D. But the free ride may soon be coming to an end.

The Metropolitan Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) wants to start charging riders who take the Green Line outbound, in an effort to bring additional revenue to the cash-strapped agency. The change, part of a larger fare-increase proposal announced last week (which would bring rides up from $1.25 to $1.70), would go into effect in January 2007.

Conveniently, the T has scheduled public hearings and workshops — at which T riders can weigh in on the proposed changes — for May and June, when many Green Line riders are out of town. If you can’t make it, you can send your concerns to  fareproposal@mbta.com .

Fare-increase workshops will take place on Monday, May 15, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, at the State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston; Monday, May 22, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, at the Tip O’Neill Federal Building Auditorium, 10 Causeway Street, Boston; Tuesday, May 23, from 6 to 8 pm, at the Cambridge Citywide Senior Center, 806 Mass Ave, Cambridge; and Tuesday, June 6, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, at the Copley Square Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston.

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