Worcester Zero Fare Group Renews Push For Free WRTA Buses
WORCESTER, MA — A group advocating to eliminate fares on WRTA buses will host a forum this month featuring elected leaders from across the state, marking the reemergence of a movement sidetracked by the coronavirus pandemic.
The zero-fare movement got its start in 2019, when the Worcester Regional Research Bureau (WRRB) released a study showing the economic benefits of WRTA dropping its standard $1.75 fare. Worcester Councilor Gary Rosen, who chairs the Council's transportation committee, called for hearings on the idea.
But by the end of March, WRTA moved to a zero-fare system due to the coronavirus pandemic. WRTA buses are still free, but the transit agency's board will decide whether to keep the temporary policy in place at a Dec. 17 meeting.
The virtual Zero Fare WRTA forum on Nov. 30 will feature state Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester), state Rep. David LeBoeuf (D-Worcester), Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu and WRRB analyst Tom Quinn. The forum will focus on how to pay for making the system free, according to organizers.
Last fall, Rivera led an effort to use $225,000 in city funds to make three Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority lines free for Lawrence residents. Funding a year of fare-free transit could cost as much as $3.5 million, WRTA General Manager Dennis Lipka has said.
Lipka has said that the agency needs to find a new fare collection system before even piloting the fare-free idea. At a WRTA board meeting on Thursday, Lipka said the agency will soon seek bids for the new fare collection system, and may be able to pick a new one in 2021.
The WRTA board on Thursday also voted reaffirm the system's fare policy, but Lipka said that move won't have any influence on future fare changes.
"It's not going to make and difference going forward," he said. "When we get a new fare collection system, that would be the time to talk about the just, equitable fare policy for WRTA going forward for the next 10 yrs."
This article originally appeared on the Worcester Patch
