Shei: Keep WRTA buses fare-free
In the coming weeks, starting with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) Advisory Board Audit and Finance Committee meeting Wednesday, the advisory board has an opportunity to continue this RTA’s leading role in providing fare-free transportation.
Since March 2020, the WRTA has suspended the collection of bus fares, enabling residents of this region to access transportation to essential jobs and services without worrying about the cost of bus fare. While most other transit agencies have resumed fare collection since an initial pause at the start of the pandemic for public health and safety reasons, the WRTA Advisory Board has approved the suspension of fares several times since March 2020, leveraging available federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding to replace lost fare revenue. The current suspension of fares ends June 30.
The further continuation of free fares is feasible and necessary. The Worcester Regional Research Bureau recently published its All Aboard: Financing a Fare-Free WRTA report, which explored potential revenue streams to replace bus fares in the long term.
In pre-pandemic years, fares accounted for a diminishing portion of the WRTA’s operating revenue, accounting for 14% of operating expenses in 2019, the last full year during which fares were collected. In contrast, state funding has accounted for the greatest share of WRTA operating revenue, accounting for nearly $14 million (roughly half) in fiscal 2022.
Potential state funding in fiscal 2024 will be an important consideration for the WRTA Advisory Board Audit and Finance Committee, yet it is currently anyone’s guess how much will be invested in RTAs when the state budget is finalized at the end of July.
The governor’s proposed fiscal 2024 budget includes $96.8 million for RTAs statewide in addition to $6 million for operating expenses from a new $25 million grant program. In addition, the RTA Caucus, which includes strong Central Massachusetts representation with state Sens. Anne Gobi as Senate co-chair and Robyn Kennedy as Senate vice chair, has begun to put forward bills to raise statewide RTA funding to $150 million a year, an increase of nearly $55 million over the previous year. The Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate are in the process of developing their own fiscal 2024 budget proposals.
While waiting for the fiscal 2024 state budget to be finalized, the WRTA should use available federal CARES Act funding to continue the extension for free fares as advocates continue their work to increase state funding for RTAs. The movement for fare-free transportation began before the pandemic, and The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts has supported the Zero Fare Coalition for several years, including participating in a rally in support of the continuation of free fares in May 2021.
The residents of this region who rely on the WRTA often have no other transportation options, and bus fare of even a few dollars can be out of reach for many. A 2018 survey of WRTA riders found that 65% of riders had an income of less than $24,999.
The potential resumption of fares comes at a time when residents are facing rising food and housing costs, the end of enhanced pandemic-related SNAP (nutrition) benefits and the upcoming start of widespread MassHealth redetermination. It is a challenging and disruptive time already and not the time to resume fare collection when federal CARES Act funding is available to provide a runway.
Continuation of free fares is complementary to service expansion, not mutually exclusive. Additional routes and extended hours are needed throughout Worcester and in the WRTA’s member towns, but the continuation of free fares, which helped the WRTA achieve the quickest rebound in ridership post-pandemic, provides an important foundation for service expansion.
The WRTA’s fiscal 2024 budget will be a statement of values and priorities. As such, I sincerely hope the Advisory Board will commit to extending the suspension of fares, and I also hope that any serious discussion about the resumption of fare collection, including means-tested fares, includes a transparent and inclusive process with public meetings and comment, as many WRTA riders, along with businesses and organizations whose employees and clients rely on the WRTA, will be adversely impacted.
The WRTA’s continuation of free fares is a model for other transit agencies, and the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority along with the MBTA (through a limited pilot of three bus routes) have followed by offering free bus fares as well.
Federal CARES Act funding will not last forever, but it provides ample runway for advocates including the Zero Fare Coalition and the RTA Advocates Coalition to encourage policymakers to invest in RTAs as the public goods that they are.
Transportation connects people to essential jobs and services, so we must invest in it as a public good that directly impacts the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
Amie Shei is president and CEO of The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Amie Shei on keeping Worcester Regional Transit Authority buses fare free
