Another Year Of Zero-Fare Worcester Bus Service Approved

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester area will get another year of free bus service while the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) works on a permanent new fare policy that might include eliminating fares permanently.

WRTA Director Dennis Lipka presented a three-point plan for the transit system during an advisory board meeting Thursday. He asked the board to begin formulating a new fare policy with public meetings beginning in early 2022. He also asked the board to approve the purchase of a new mobile payment system, which he said will modernize how riders pay for transit, and help collect data on ridership.

Finally, he recommended a one-year extension of the fare-free policy until Dec. 31, 2022 to give the board time to work on the new fare policy.

"If we are going to move away from fare revenue as a major source of funding, we need the advisory board to make that a policy of the WRTA and not rely on administrative fiat to do that," Lipka said.

WRTA suspended fares in March 2020, but the board has extended the fare-free policy several times. During the last discussion in May, Lipka asked the board to bring fares back calling the policy "draconian."

But Lipka struck a different tone on Thursday, saying the amount of federal funding available at the moment to WRTA is "unprecedented." The transit system, which serves Worcester and 12 surrounding communities, has received funding from the two pandemic stimulus packages, plus more coming from the $1 trillion infrastructure deal signed this week by President Joe Biden.

Lipka also highlighted that the surplus federal funds are temporary, estimating the infusion will last about five years. Fares bring in about $3 million per year, or about 8 percent of WRTA's total funding. The Worcester Regional Research Bureau recently published a report looking at three possible new funding sources, including increased local contributions — each WRTA community pays a fee based on the amount of local bus service — private contributions and state funding.

RELATED: WRTA Pitches 'Service Enhancements' Rather Than Zero-Fare

During a discussion at Thursday's meeting, many board members said they supported Lipka's proposal, but reinforced that the system needs to come up with a permanent way to pay for zero-fare.

"Anytime I hear the word free or zero, I laugh. There's nobody giving anything away for free," Millbury WRTA member Robert Spain said. "We have to come up with a funding system that's permanent, a funding system that's sustainable."

The group Zero Fare WRTA supported Lipka's ideas, as did the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. The board voted unanimously to move forward with Lipka's three-point plan.

District 5 Councilor-elect Etel Haxhiaj credited a strong coalition of groups pushing for fare-free, including everyone from transit activist to the chamber to U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern. Haxhiaj also made zero-fare part of her campaign for the District 5 seat.

"It's quite an amazing, diverse coalition," she said. "We have the opportunity to make this permanent if we keep this coalition moving forward."

WRTA is not the only fare-free transit service in the state. This week, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sought to expand a free bus service pilot program to three more routes in that city. In September 2019, Lawrence provided the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority with funding to make three popular bus routes free for two years.

Outside Massachusetts, Olympia, Wash., the state capitol, began a five-year zero-fare experiment in January 2020. Kansas City's bus and streetcar system is free through 2023.