|
BOSTON - Tuesday,
December 21, 2021 - Building
on her commitment to expand safe, reliable and accessible transportation
for all, today Mayor Michelle Wu announced the City of Boston is extending
the fare-free route 28 bus pilot program through February 28, 2022,
ensuring no break in fare-free service for 28 riders in advance of the
two-year fare-free pilot. The extension of the fare-free 28 bus pilot
program had previously been set to expire on December 31, 2021.
As the 28 bus
pilot continues through January and February, the City of Boston continues
to work with the MBTA to launch the expanded fare-free bus pilot on the 23,
28 and 29 routes in early 2022.
The 28 bus line
(Mattapan Square, up Blue Hill Ave, to Nubian Square & Ruggles) serves
as a key route for many Boston residents, connecting the residents of
Mattapan, Roxbury, and Dorchester to the broader MBTA network.
While overall bus
and subway ridership is at 53 percent of pre-pandemic weekday ridership,
the free 28 bus saw ridership surge to 92 percent of pre-pandemic levels, making it the most popular in the
system. This demonstrates that fare-free buses increase ridership, reducing
congestion and spurring economic recovery.
"Fare-free
transit connects our communities, drives ridership, and eases traffic for
the entire region," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "I'm thrilled
to partner with the MBTA to extend this successful ongoing pilot program
and look forward to working with the MBTA to build the public transit
system that truly serves Boston residents and our local economy.”
“We’re pleased to
continue to partner with the City of Boston on this pilot,” said MBTA
General Manager Steve Poftak. “Extending the pilot 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.”
“As an avid
advocate for public transit I am ecstatic to see Mayor Wu expand upon the
fare free bus pilot that I initiated last summer. This expansion increases
access and affordability in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan, communities
disproportionately impacted by gaps in service, and it helps put us on a
path toward an equitable economic recovery,” said former Mayor Kim Janey.
The City of Boston
and the MBTA are working closely to complete a comprehensive evaluation of
the ongoing pilot. The evaluation includes analysis of ridership and
service reliability data as well as interviews with bus riders to get their
views on the benefits of the pilot. The results will be released in
February. The Boston Transportation Department has been working with the
MBTA to manage the pilot program that was first launched in August last
year.
The two-month
extension for the fare-free 28 bus pilot program builds on Mayor Wu's work
to expand fare-free public transit, starting with buses. This month, the
Boston City Council voted in favor of Mayor Wu’s proposed appropriation
order for $8 million in federal funds to eliminate fares on the 23, 28 and 29 MBTA bus
routes for a two-year
period. The City of Boston, in partnership with the MBTA, is extending the
free Route 28 bus for additional two months using the funds from the $8
million allocation from ARPA.
|
沒有留言:
發佈留言