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BOSTON - Tuesday,
November 9, 2021 - Mayor Kim Janey has announced that the City of
Boston will extend the Route 28 Free Fare pilot through the end of the year. The Route 28
bus is a major connector for Boston residents of Mattapan, Roxbury, and
Dorchester to bus, subway, and commuter rail networks.
“The success of this
pilot program shows just how crucial the Route 28 bus is as an economic
engine, connecting residents of Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan with
jobs, schools, and other important destinations," said Mayor Janey.
"As we continue to build a more equitable City, I am thrilled that
Boston is able to partner with the MBTA to continue this free fare pilot
program through the end of the year.”
The Boston
Transportation Department has been working with the MBTA to manage the
three-month pilot program that was previously announced on July 21, 2021.
Since the start of the pilot, Route 28 ridership has risen from around
47,000 weekly rides, or about 70% of pre-pandemic ridership, to more than
70,000 weekly rides, or about 100% of its pre-pandemic ridership. Route 28
is now currently the highest ridership route in the MBTA bus system. Based
on a comparison to ridership trends on comparable routes, this increase in
ridership is a direct outcome of the Route 28 Free Fare Pilot.
Given the success of
the pilot, the City of Boston, in partnership with the MBTA, is extending
the free Route 28 bus for an additional month using the funds included in
the FY22 operating budget.
“We’re pleased to
continue to partner with the City of Boston on this pilot,” said MBTA
General Manager Steve Poftak. “Extending the pilot through the end of the calendar
year allows us to gather even more data so we can perform a thoughtful and
comprehensive evaluation of the pilot’s effects on ridership and the
transit network. We thank the City of Boston for providing funding that
allows us to better understand the pilot’s impacts. ”
The pilot evaluation
will be conducted using both operational data from the MBTA and rider
surveys conducted just prior to the pilot in late August and during the
pilot in mid-October. The surveys and operational data cover Route 28 and a
selection of comparable routes so to better isolate the impact of the free
fares from other factors, such as the return to school in September. Key
evaluation metrics included travel time impacts, on-time reliability, rider
experience, economic impact, and ridership numbers, among others.
The communities
Route 28 serves are key to Boston's equitable reopening and recovery. More
than two-thirds of riders on Route 28 are low-income, according to the
MBTA’s most recent system wide survey. The free fares will lessen riders’
financial burden at a time when economic vulnerability is at a historic
high.
The City of Boston
is currently awaiting a decision from the federal government on its recent
RAISE Grant application for Blue Hill Avenue. If awarded, the grant would
help fund center-running bus lanes and other corridor improvements on Blue
Hill Avenue, which would also be transformative for Route 28 and its
riders.
For more information
on the Route 28 Pilot Program, visit www.boston.gov/28bus and mbta.com/28pilot. | 
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