Will Free Worcester-Area Buses Continue? WRTA Leaders Don't Commit

WORCESTER, MA — Will Worcester Regional Transit Authority buses remain free? Riders likely won't get an answer for a few months.

WRTA officials met Thursday night with the Worcester City Council's transportation committee for a hearing — heated at times — where councilors questioned the bus system's leaders about their plan for the fare-free policy, which is set to expire in June.

Under questioning from councilors Moe Bergman, Thu Nguyen and Candy Mero-Carlson, WRTA Administrator Dennis Lipka estimated the free-fare policy is costing WRTA as much as $3.5 million per year. At the same time, WRTA received about $22 million from the federal CARES Act — the first federal stimulus package during the pandemic — and is using they money to pay for the free-fare policy.

"Why can't you commit to a fare-free system if there's plenty of state and federal money?" Bergman asked Lipka during the hearing.

Lipka said he's worried about fluctuations in an annual state allotment for regional transit authorities. Lipka also said he doesn't want to use funds from WRTA's ARPA allotment — the second federal stimulus package — because he wants to use it for increased bus service.

"Until we know that number, I'm not going to commit to 3 to 4 years of any program except capital money, which is from the federal side," Lipka said of the annual state funds.

Lipka said there would be a decision likely in April about extending fare-free. WRTA Advisory Board Vice Chair Doug Belanger, who represents Leicester, said fare-free would likely be extended on an annual basis to align with the system's annual budgeting process.

Mero-Carlson questioned why WRTA wouldn't commit to a longer period with enough federal money to carry the program for several years.

"It's not far-fetched could we do an extended period on fare-free," she said.

Although there's been a push to remove fares since before the pandemic, the fare-free policy grew out of COVID-19. In March 2020, WRTA suspended fares to allow passengers to board at the rear doors of buses to avoid close contact with drivers. The WRTA board has voted multiple times — most recently in September — to extend the fare suspension.

WRTA isn't alone in suspending fares. Last March, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority advisory board approved two years of fare-free service. The Kansas City transit system, which is about five times the size of WRTA, eliminated fares for three years beginning in 2020.

Nguyen said the $3.5 million in fare revenue will come out of the pockets of WRTA riders, whether it's through fare collection or the taxes they pay to the state and federal governments to fund the system. Right now, the fare suspension is providing a benefit to riders who are otherwise struggling, Nguyen said.

"I hope we don't leave them physically stranded, and in the future stranded," they said.