Fare-Free Transit

Thanks to state and regional funding, the city eliminated fares while making service improvements.

June 7, 2022 - Governing

Fare-free transit isn’t the climate change benefit that many have hoped, according to recent writing by David Zipper for Bloomberg.

May 16, 2022 - Bloomberg

The Youth Opportunity Pass program provides free transit to San Diego County youth in an effort to boost ridership and improve transportation options for young residents.

April 20, 2022 - ABC 10 News San Diego

The state is weighing a plan to offer free transit rides during ozone-heavy months in an effort to improve the state's air quality.

March 30, 2022 - Colorado Public Radio

Cincinnati residents and visitors will have access to free transit for a week as the agency aims to boost ridership.

March 22, 2022 - WCPO

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

March 16, 2022 - The Washington Post

After a successful pilot program, the OCTA will permanently offer free bus rides to youth ages 6 to 18.

February 25, 2022 - Orange County Transportation Authority

Early returns from Utah Transit Authority's fare-free transit experiment.

February 21, 2022 - TownLift

Metro Los Angeles is rolling back public health measures on its buses systemwide in the middle of the worst Covid wave of the entire pandemic.

January 10, 2022 - LAist

Albuquerque is the largest U.S. city yet to offer free rides on its entire system of buses with a one-year pilot program that launched at the beginning of the year.

January 6, 2022 - Marketplace

A lack of access to affordable and reliable transit is being cited as a major reason why many college students don't finish school.

December 15, 2021 - The Washington Post

The pro-transit mayor of Boston is proposing fare-free transit on some of the city's most heavily used bus routes.

November 26, 2021 - Streetsblog Massachusetts

Transit advocates worry that the movement to eliminate fares will come at a high cost to transit-dependent riders who rely on frequent, reliable service to reach jobs and services.

November 19, 2021 - The Washington Post

The San Diego Association of Governments has proposed a mileage fee as part of its plan to modernize transportation and encourage public transit use as California aims to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

November 2, 2021 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

With buses as a dominant transport mode for low-income households and "essential workers," free fares would increase access to economic opportunities and free up limited income for cash-strapped commuters.

October 12, 2021 - NextCity

Albuquerque will become one of the largest cities in the nation to launch a fare-free pilot program for transit riders.

September 23, 2021 - Albuquerque Journal

Free transit would reduce boarding times and improve working conditions for bus drivers, the 'frontline workers' responsible for fare collection and enforcement.

September 14, 2021 - NextCity

According to the Federal Transit Administration, transit ridership is up dramatically from 2020 levels.

August 3, 2021 - Transportation Today News

The pandemic has provided a proving ground for fare-free transit in cities all over the country. For some cities, it might make fiscal sense for these experiments to be made permanent.

July 26, 2021 - Governing

Philadelphia's student passes cut off at 8 p.m. and don't include weekends, but expanding the free fare program could help SEPTA rebuild ridership and create lifelong transit users.

July 23, 2021 - The Philadelphia Inquirer