Free public transport has been implemented in parts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through various trials and programs since the 2010s. Pilot programs have been run on several transit agencies in the state, with many of these pilot programs arising following losses of ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forms of fare-free public transport have received political support from prominent Massachusetts politicians such as Governor Maura Healey, U.S. Senator Ed Markey, U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, former Boston acting mayor Kim Janey, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
Boston
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Matthew Haugen of Nonprofit Quarterly credits grassroots support for the idea of free public transit in Boston in the 2010s as coming from groups such as Alternatives for Community and Environment, particularly that group's transit-oriented development director, Mela Bush-Miles.[1]
City Councilor Michelle Wu argued that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) should explore the possibility of eliminating fares in a January 31, 2019 op-ed published in The Boston Globe.[2] Later in 2019, she and City Councilor Kim Janey proposed making the MBTA Route 28 bus fare-free.[3] Wu's August 2020 proposal for a Boston Green New Deal incorporated a call for Boston to pursue fare-free public transportation.[4] Crediting Councilwoman Wu as a leader on free public transit, in January 2021, the editorial board of The Boston Globe endorsed the idea of making Boston's buses fare-free.[5] Wu would come to be considered a prominent voice in both the local and national push for fare-free public transit.[1][6]
Boston's fare-free MBTA bus route pilot program began solely with the MBTA Route 28 bus (pictured)
In June 2021, Acting Boston Mayor Janey announced that the city would be funding a $500,000 three-month pilot that would see the MBTA's Route 28 bus be made fare-free. In 2019, as a city councilor, she and fellow councilor Michelle Wu had previously called for this bus route to be made fare-free.[9]
The city, in November 2021, announced that its data showed that during the pilot program ridership had increased to an excess of 70,000 in weekly ridership. Pre-COVID-19 pandemic weekly ridership on the route had been 47,000, making the COVID-era pilot program ridership significantly greater despite the general impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transportation rider. The city concluded that, in comparison to ridership trends on comparable routes of the MBTA, the increase in ridership was directly attributable to the pilot program.[10] A later more in-depth 2022 analysis found an overall 38% increase in weekday ridership from 7,500 before the pandemic to 10,200 during the September and October periods during the pilot program.[11][12]
During the 2021 Boston mayoral election, in which Kim Janey and Michelle Wu were candidates, fellow candidate Andrea Campbell voiced her support for making all of the city's buses fare-free. Candidate John Barros supported making ridership free for some low-income riders on select bus lines.[13] Candidate Annissa Essaibi George was critical of the idea of free public transport, questioning its feasibility.[14][15]
In December 2021, Michelle Wu, who had won the 2021 mayoral election and was now mayor of Boston, extended the pilot program by two months.[16] Wu afterwards succeeded in launching a two-year program to have the MBTA Route 23, 28, and 29 buses run fare-free for two years, with this program beginning on March 1, 2022.[17][18][19] These buses serve the Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury communities.[18] Wu's mayoral campaign had included advocacy for fare-free public transit with the catchphrase "Free the T" ("the T" being a nickname for the MBTA). She filed paperwork for this expansion of the pilot program on her first day as mayor.[20] In mid-November 2021, Wu had sent an appropriations order to the Boston City Council requesting their approval to appropriate $8 million of federal funds to fund the two years of fare-free service on the three bus routes.[18][19] The funds are COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.[21][22] At the start of December, the City Council approved the appropriations order 12–1.[23] On February 9, 2022, it was announced by Wu and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak that the two-year program for the three routes to be fare-free was officially agreed to and would be launched on March 1, 2022.[24][17]
In February 2022, a report was released by MBTA that showed that in the initial pilot, Route 23 saw a 20% increase in ridership. However, the report showed that due to the limited scope of the pilot, impacting only one line, 66% of riders on the route did not save money on fares as they were required to purchase transit passes for connecting trips. The report also claimed that the fare-free service decreased travel time on the route, with there being a 20% reduction in lag time at stops due to the elimination of fare collection.[25] The initial pilot program had seen the line reach 90% of the pre-pandemic ridership numbers.[21]
Reports show that between February 2021 and February 2023, average weekday ridership on the three lines included in the pilot program had doubled:[26]
Route 23 increased from 4,783 average weekday ridership to 10,185[26]
Route 28 increased from 5,571 average weekday ridership to 10,905[26]
Route 29 increased from 735 average weekday ridership to 1,652[26]
Reports also showed that average weekday ridership had also increased on all three lines by February 2023 compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership numbers. This came in contrast a 21% overall decrease in average weekday ridership on the whole MBTA bus system compared to pre-pandemic ridership (February 2023 vs. February 2020).[26]
Route 23 had 10,185 average weekday riders in February 2023 compared to 8,845 in February 2020[26]
Route 28 had 10,905 average weekday riders in February 2023 compared to 9,128 in February 2020[26]
Route 29 had 1,652 average weekday riders in February 2023 compared to 1,591 in February 2020[26]
According to a rider survey released in March 2023, 26% percent of passengers on the three fare-free routes saved in excess of $20 per month due to the elimination of fares on those routes.[27][28] The survey also revealed that 15% of rides on the three bus lines are trips that otherwise would not have been taken using any mode (public or private) in the absence of the fare-free public transit options.[27][29] At the end of the two-year pilot, the city reported that riders had saved more than $6 million on fares in its two-year run, with half of the riders having savings which averaged $35 per month.[30]
Boston, by late-2022, was looking at further expansion of the program.[31] By April 2023, there were discussions between Boston, Cambridge, and MBTA about additionally making MBTA Route 1 fare-free.[32] In February 2024, the city authorized a $8.4 million two-year extension of the three-route pilot into 2026.[33]
Two-month fare-free service on the MBTA Blue Line (July and August 2023)
During the temporary closure of Boston's Sumner Tunnel (scheduled to last July 5 through August 31, 2023), the MBTA Blue Line rapid transit line ran fare-free.[34][35]
Other MBTA fare-free service
On New Year's Eve in December 2022, the MBTA offered fare-free late-night service on all of its services.[36][37]
2019 elimination of fares on three routes in Lawrence
In 2019, fares were eliminated on three Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) bus lines serving the city of Lawrence. This was made possible with funding provided by the city of Lawrence.[38] Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera had been influenced by Michelle Wu of Boston's advocacy for fare-free transit when he pushed to implement this program.[39][40]
Systemwide pilot program (2022–present)
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In February 2022, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority Board voted to launch a two-year pilot program which eliminates fares on bus and paratransit services in all of the municipalities that it serves.[38] The program launched that March.[41]
Worcester Regional Transit Authority systemwide program (2020–present)
The city of Worcester, Massachusetts had been experiencing a movement for fare elimination prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it would not be until the pandemic that this push succeeded in creating an interim fare-free policy.[42] In 2019, Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) itself began to explore the possibility of running fare-free buses in order to increase ridership and improve transit affordability.[43] Beginning in March 2020, amid the pandemic, WRTA launched an interim fare-elimination program.[42] COVID-19 relief funding has been used as the source of funding for this program.[43]
The fare-elimination has extended several times.[42] Most recently, in April 2023, it was extended to continue through June 2024. In the meeting when this unanimous vote to continue the program was made, several board members declared that the system would need to begin finding alternate forms of funding if it wanted to continue the policy even further into the future due to the limited nature of federal COVID-relief funds.[43]
By 2022, ridership had increased during the free public transport program above what pre-pandemic numbers had been.[42] 2022 ridership on the WRTA bus system was 20% higher than ridership had been before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in contrast to most other transit systems in the United States which had seen a decline from pre-pandemic ridership.[44] In 2023, the nonprofit Worcester Regional Research Bureau published a study which indicated that the system was Massachusetts' only transit system to exceed its pre-COVID-19 pandemic bus ridership numbers.[43][45]
As of 2023, per the Zero Fair Coalition, the WRTA had the longest-running active systemwide fare-free policy of any United States bus system.[43]
Beginning November 15, 2022, a 37-day pilot $2.5 million program was launched in which the State of Massachusetts provided several regional transportation authorities in different parts of state with funding for 37 days of fare elimination. The program did not include the MBTA.[50] Among the agencies participating in the program was the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority.[51] A spokesperson for Maura Healey, who took office as governor in January 2023, declared that Healey would be "reviewing the results of the Try Transit Holiday initiative, as well as other fare-free programs across the state." Before taking office, Healey had pledged to create "a pathway to fare free buses" in Massachusetts.[52]
Support for free public transport by members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation
April 2023 press conference by Senator Ed Markey and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley for their "Freedom to Move" legislation, at which they are joined by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and others
In June 2020, United States Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Massachusetts U.S. Senator Ed Markey proposed a federal bill to establish a $5 billion federal grant program to support localities that operate fare-free bus and rail transit services.[53][54] They reintroduced the bill in April 2023.[55]
^"Fare-free buses"(PDF). assets.nationbuilder.com. Livable Streets Alliance. August 2022. Archived(PDF) from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
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