Fix it before you start charging more.

That was the message from beleaguered T riders a day after the MBTA’s fiscal control board embraced a policy that would allow officials to take up to 10 percent more out of the pockets of commuters every two years.

At Park Street Station on Tuesday afternoon, most T passengers interviewed said prices should not be raised so frequently, especially if the MBTA’s efficiency does not improve.

“It’s not a big amount, but think ahead. If every 24 months they keep on raising it, one day, it’s going to be $40 a week. And then one day, it’s going to be $50 a week. I don’t know why they can’t just keep it a normal fare,’’ said Ricardo Pierre, 40, who uses the T to travel to work from Quincy each day.

Monday’s vote came as state transportation officials grapple with whether to raise fares in 2016. On the same day, transportation officials released ­MBTA employee salaries, revealing that 24 percent of T workers will have earned more than $100,000 in 2015.

For some riders, knowing a higher fare could be used to pay the six-digit salaries of MBTA employees incited even more dismay.

“There are people out there saving lives that don’t make that much,’’ said Aaron Burns, a 29-year-old Quincy resident. “These people aren’t really doing too much.’’

“$100,000 a year,’’ he said, “that’s kind of excessive.’’

But other passengers supported increasing fares to compensate T employees.

“It’s easy for people to look at other people’s jobs and say, ‘Oh that’s easy. That person doesn’t deserve that salary.’ But I . . . try to think that you never know what someone’s job is like until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,’’ said Diana Snyder, 29, who recently moved to Brookline from California and said she enjoys her morning commutes on the T.

“I would probably want [revenue from fares] to go to the people who actually drive the T,’’ Snyder added. “I have to imagine that’s a thankless job.’’

Some riders expressed skepticism that money from increased fares would be used for improvements, such as making the T more reliable or cleaning the system’s dowdy cars.

“I am late for work every day,’’ said 22-year-old Rayelle Dawkins, who lives in Boston. “Either the train comes earlier than it’s supposed to, or later than it’s supposed to.’’

Dawkins said rising fares will mean many Boston residents won’t be able to afford to take a subway, bus, or commuter rail operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

“They’re getting more and more expensive, and not everyone can afford it,’’ she said. “This is crazy. It’s not New York.’’

Burns also said he wants to see more tangible improvements along MBTA routes.

If T authorities can show the money is actually going to improvements, “then yeah, I think it would be money well spent,’’ he said as chunks of dirt and water fell from the ceiling onto the pavement next to his feet. “But if it’s not, if there’s no evidence of there being an improvement, then it’s not worth it.’’

Rose Hanig, 62, of Cambridge, said MBTA officials need to do a better job of collecting fares before they consider increasing the cost of a ride. She said she often gets on the T at above-ground stops and sees passengers stealthily enter through the train’s rear doors, evading fare boxes at the front.

“You get on the train and the conductor says, ‘Come up front and give us your T pass.’ No one comes up front,’’ she said. “It doesn’t seem as if they ever put a decent system for collecting fares in, in the first place. To raise it seems kind of regressive when they don’t even collect.’’

Felicia Gans can be reached at felicia.gans@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @FeliciaGans.