A bus serving the MBTA's Route 28 pulls into the Nubian Square terminal. Photo by King TransitMA | CC BY-SA 4.0
Members of the state’s Congressional delegation relaunched a push Monday to roll out $25 billion in federal dollars to implement fare-free public transit options across the country.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey once again introduced legislation that would put taxpayer money on the table to help transit agencies run services free of charge to commuters, a strategy that some areas are embracing as a way to attract more riders in the wake of COVID-19.
Their “Freedom to Move Act,” which is also cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, would create a five-year, $25 billion competitive grant program aimed at helping states and municipalities interested in fare-free transit. It would also steer money toward improving safety and quality of transit systems, especially in historically underserved and lower-income areas, according to a summary from Markey’s office.
“Our country’s public transit system must be made accessible and affordable so that everyone can get to work, school, the grocery store, and other critical services in their day-to-day lives,” Markey said in a statement. “When we support state and local efforts to embed economic and climate justice into our transit system with fare-free service, we ensure that the transit needs of low-income workers and families, people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities are met.”
“Public transportation is meant to provide folks with the mobility and freedom to access critical services, but as the past few years have shown us, far too many people in the Massachusetts 7th [District] and across the country lack the safe, reliable, and affordable transit service that they deserve,” added Pressley, who represents much of Boston.
Some fare-free options have taken hold in Massachusetts in recent years, and Pressley said the bill would “build on the success” of those options. The MBTA has been running buses on the routes 23, 28 and 29 in Boston free of charge in a program funded by the city, and some regional transit authorities including those in Worcester and the Merrimack Valley for years have operated their services without any fares.
Their bill was previously unsuccessful in Congress, and efforts at the state level to secure funding for fare-free transit have gained little traction in the state legislature.
The idea of fare-free transit has become a hot-button topic in local and international transit policy circles. Supporters, like Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, say the idea of making services like the MBTA’s bus network fare-free costs relatively little, given the money that the T must spend on cash-management and bus farebox systems, and helps make buses faster by eliminating the need for riders to fumble with cash at the farebox while also saving the poorest riders money. Opponents say that with transit agencies’ balance sheets stretched past the breaking point by post-pandemic ridership declines, every dollar is important and eliminating fares distracts agencies and policymakers from making the kinds of service improvements that will draw riders back.
