Boston Aims for Fare-Free Transit

The city's new mayor wants to see fare-free transit funded as a public good throughout the Boston region.

2 minute read

March 16, 2022, 10:58 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


MBTA Bus

MikeDott / Shutterstock

If its new mayor gets her way, Boston could soon have fare-free bus travel for everyone, reports Joanna Slater. "Michelle Wu, the city’s newly elected mayor, has made free public transportation a rallying cry and a personal mission, calling it a tool for social justice and tackling climate change."

"Advocates for free transportation say it increases ridership, discourages car use and provides greater access to jobs and education, particularly for lower-income residents and communities of color." Some proponents of free transit say eliminating fares also reduces operating costs. "Noah Berger, the [Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority]’s administrator, said that for every dollar the system collected in fares, 76 cents went to the costs of collecting those fares — from fixing and maintaining fare boxes to physically counting cash."

"Fare-free pilots can be more complex than they appear, said Steven Poftak, general manager of the MBTA. When fares disappear for a bus, they must also be eliminated for transit services for people with disabilities in the same area, generating more demand for such rides." Meanwhile, in Boston's early fare-free pilot, "About two-thirds of the passengers said the free bus service didn’t save them any money, either because they use a monthly transit pass or because they transfer from the bus to a train and must still pay a fare for their journey."

But Wu wants to see fare-free transit spread throughout the greater Boston region. "In the long run, she said, public transportation is 'a public good and should be funded that way.'"

Monday, March 14, 2022 in The Washington Post

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