thumb|Wheelchair user entering a Red Line car at [[Harvard (MBTA station)|Harvard station]]

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) system is mostly but not fully accessible. Like most American mass transit systems, much of the MBTA subway and commuter rail were built before wheelchair access became a requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The MBTA has renovated most stations to be compliant with the ADA, and all stations built since 1990 are accessible. The MBTA also has a paratransit program, The Ride, which provides accessible vehicles to transport passengers who cannot use the fixed-route system.

Much of the MBTA subway system is accessible: all Orange and Red Line stations, and all but one Blue Line station, are accessible. Most of the underground portion of the Green Line is accessible, though only some surface stops are; all but one stop on the Mattapan Line are accessible. As of March 2025, about 84% of the MBTA Commuter Rail system is accessible, including the North Station and South Station terminals. All buses (including the Silver Line) and all MBTA ferry services are accessible.

Subway

thumb|right|A Type 8 low-floor LRV at Park Street, which has raised platforms

All stations on the Orange Line, Blue Line, and Red Line rapid transit lines of the MBTA subway system have high level platforms level with train floors, and all are accessible except for Bowdoin station on the Blue Line.

Most subway stations (except , , and ) and major surface stops on the light rail Green Line have -high platforms. These allow accessible boarding from the newer low-floor Type 8 and Type 9 vehicles, which have a built-in retractable bridge plate. Some stations have portable lifts or wooden wayside ramps for use with high-floor Type 7 vehicles; however, this boarding method is largely disused. The Mattapan Line runs older, high floor PCC streetcars. Wooden ramps with bridge plates are at all stations except for Valley Road, which is inaccessible because of a steep incline from street level. , the MBTA expects all light rail stations except Boylston, Hynes Convention Center, and Valley Road to be accessible by 2030.

Some train stations have yellow detectable warning strips with truncated domes running in a two-foot (60 cm) band along the edge of the platforms. Most Red, Orange, and Blue Line stations have these tactile strips; however, many less-used Green Line surface stops and commuter rail stations lack them.

Buses and trains are supposed to have either recorded announcements or driver announcements of station stops, but these announcements are sometimes muffled, inaudible, or omitted by automated systems. In the event that automated systems are not functioning properly, the vehicle driver or conductor is to announce stops over the public address system.

Hearing impaired

The MBTA has a TTY number for "T" information: (617) 222–5146. Many stations have TTY pay phones; the MBTA web site has a list.

The MBTA says it has reviewed its web site using "the United States Section 508 guidelines and WCAG double AA guidelines, ... and made all required accommodations to help ensure that the site is accessible by users who rely on assistive technologies such as screen readers or other input mechanisms."

History

thumb|left|Newly opened elevator at Park Street station in 1979

In 1975, the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board enacted its first regulations requiring accessibility of public facilities. All subsequent new rapid transit stations have been accessible. The first station to be renovated for accessibility was the Red Line level of in 1979. In the mid-1980s, the MBTA spent $80 million to extend the platforms of seven Red Line and three Orange Line stations to allow the use of six-car trains and add elevators.

The pace of renovations increased after the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Only 26 of the 80 key stations were accessible by 1990; $1.6 billion in renovations raised this to 69 in 2004. Of all stations, 2% were accessible in 1980, 21% in 1990, 48% in 2000, 70% in 2010, and 75% in 2020.

Green Line service was not accessible until around 2001, when key surface stops were retrofitted with raised platforms for use with new Type 8 LRVs. In 2006, the MBTA settled a class-action lawsuit, Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA, under which the agency agreed to add redundant elevators to a number of rapid transit stations and make other accessibility improvements. The settlement was amended in 2018 to better define certain terms. In December 2025, the independent monitor declared the MBTA to be in substantial compliance with the settlement. The MBTA entered into a continued accessibility agreement with the original plaintiffs. , the MBTA expects 93% of stations to be accessible by 2030.