The Boston-to-Cape Cod roundtrip train known aptly as CapeFLYER will resume its seasonal service on Friday, May 22. New rail service and an additional stop along the way this year are poised to help CapeFLYER build on the success enjoyed during its first two years in operation.
According to CapeFLYER, new scheduling will allow for additional Friday night service in order to provide more time for passengers to catch a train down to Hyannis. “Rather than piggy-back on to an existing commuter rail run,” it noted, CapeFLYER will have a 5:50 p.m. train that arrives in Hyannis at 8:15 p.m.
Further CapeFLYER will be stopping in Brockton for the first time this year, affording increased transit access for the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth.
Per the new Friday night schedule, CapeFLYER is expected to pull into Brockton at approximately 6:23 p.m. before proceeding on to Middleborough/Lakeville, Wareham Village, Buzzards Bay and finally Hyannis.
A 9 p.m. train will leave Hyannis and hit Brockton at around 10:46 p.m. and arrive at South Station at 11:18 p.m. A one-way ticket from Boston to Hyannis costs $22 while round-trip will run $40.
“The focus of the CapeFLYER remains excellent customer service to provide an enjoyable trip to Cape Cod and the Islands that does not require another car crossing the Bourne or Sagamore Bridges,” said Tom Cahir, Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Administrator in a statement. “With a faster trip time on Friday nights and an improved connection to Brockton, we are confident that the train will be an even more attractive option for visitors this summer.”
In 2013 and 2014, CapeFLYER recorded approximately 15,000 and 14,000 riders over the course of those seasons, respectively. When accounting for the fact that in its first year CapeFLYER ran from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day, as opposed to Memorial Day to Labor Day which it’s repeating this year, those year-over-year numbers are rather comparable.
Cahir told BostInno that Columbus Day alone constituted an extra four or five trains.
And CapeFLYER essentially pays for itself – certainly a head-scratching notion for Bostonians privy to reading headlines about the MBTA’s deep financial woes.
“We’re the only transit service in the country I’m aware of that can say something like that,” said Cahir.
Operating costs, he said, are greatly offset by ticket sales and their marketing efforts are heavily based in social media which allows them an effective channel that requires minimal spending.
This same kind of popularity and performance is expected this year, if not better.
“We’re confident this year there will be significant increases,” in ridership and revenue, said Cahir.
For those who opt for CapeFLYER as the preferred mode of transportation down the Cape, a stocked cafe will again be offering food and drink including beer and wine provided by Blonde on the Run Catering.
