Source: Politics<\/p>\n
BOSTON \u2014 Michelle Wu once led a citywide revolution<\/a> against public transit fare hikes. But what she really wanted was to make the system free. <\/p>\n Within her first 24 hours as mayor last fall, Wu filed the paperwork to make it happen on three key bus routes \u2014 a big milestone in her quixotic quest to \u201cfree the T<\/a>,\u201d the colloquial name for Boston\u2019s public transit system. <\/p>\n Wu is following a long line of city leaders spanning from Kansas City, Mo., to Olympia, Wash., and several jurisdictions in the D.C. area<\/a> that have pursued a similar policy in hopes of improving equity and boosting ridership.<\/p>\n The push for free buses and trains has long been heralded in progressive circles as a way to boost access to transportation, mitigate carbon emissions and bridge racial disparities. Now, it\u2019s increasingly popular as gas prices hit new records<\/a> and Covid-weary mayors and governors grow desperate to entice people and businesses back to urban centers.<\/p>\n \u201cCities all across the country have to rethink what we\u2019re offering to our residents,\u201d Wu said in an interview. \u201cFare free transit is a racial equity issue. It\u2019s a climate justice issue. It\u2019s an urgent issue related to our survival post-pandemic and how much we\u2019ll be able to thrive in the new economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Some transit advocates say improving service would do more to boost ridership, get cars off the road and assist low-income riders than eliminating fares.<\/p>\n But offering free rides gives state and local officials one way to show they\u2019re doing something \u2014 anything \u2014 to address the longstanding socioeconomic inequities laid bare by the pandemic and ease the pain people are feeling at the cash register as Washington spins its wheels on tackling inflation.<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed $750 million in grants to help transit agencies provide free rides for three months as part of an $11 billion tax-relief package he filed in March. The Chicago City Council approved Mayor Lori Lightfoot\u2019s plan to give away 100,000 Chicago Transit Authority fare cards worth $50 each and 50,000 gas cards worth $150 each. Rising gas prices and inflation prompted Connecticut officials to suspend bus fares through June 30 \u2014 and then extend it to Dec. 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s such a disconnect now between voters and elected officials and policy. People think they don\u2019t see a lot of results,\u201d said veteran Democratic consultant Doug Rubin, who worked for one of Wu\u2019s rivals in last year\u2019s Boston mayoral race. \u201cSo when you get an issue like fare free transit, where it\u2019s a very clear thing people can understand and see when they get on [a bus], it becomes a very powerful issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Boston\u2019s mayor did not invent the concept. Cities like Colomiers in France and Tallinn, Estonia, have offered free rides for years. In 2020, Luxembourg became the first country to make all public transportation free. Other transit systems in Massachusetts have also made buses free to ride.<\/p>\n But like her peers, Wu has long pitched free transit as a way to eliminate financial barriers for commuters, expand ridership and reduce air pollution from personal vehicles.<\/p>\n The pandemic added another layer of urgency to her argument: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ridership is still at just half of its pre-Covid levels. Hybrid work models and new variants have kept people and businesses from returning to Boston and other downtowns.<\/p>\n Ever-dire warnings about climate change have also accelerated the conversation about fare free transit in blue states like Massachusetts. In this year\u2019s elections, progressive candidates from governor on down are pitching free or reduced fares as necessary for both the people and the planet \u2014 and it\u2019s becoming a litmus test for the left.<\/p>\n State Sen. Sonia Chang-D\u00edaz, the last Democrat still challenging state Attorney General Maura Healey for the party\u2019s nomination in the governor\u2019s race, reminds voters at every turn that she\u2019s the \u201conly candidate in the race\u201d pushing for fare free transit \u2014 not Healey.<\/p>\n Free or reduced-fare transit is also popular among Massachusetts voters. A late-December survey from the MassINC Polling Group<\/a> found 61 percent support for free buses, 71 percent support for free buses only in low-income neighborhoods and 79 percent support for low-income fare discounts. Free subways and fareless commuter rail travel also received majority support in the poll.<\/p>\n Former Acting Mayor Kim Janey set things in motion in Boston by making one key bus line \u2014 Route 28, which cuts through the heart of the city\u2019s Black, brown and low-income neighborhoods \u2014 free for four months.<\/p>\n Wu hit a few speed bumps \u2014 namely that the Federal Transportation Authority puts a six-month cap on pilot projects<\/a> \u2014 when she tried to expand the program upon taking office in November. But after a direct appeal to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and some negotiating with the FTA, the new mayor successfully expanded Boston\u2019s pilot program from one route to three for two years.<\/p>\n Early analysis of Boston\u2019s initial Route 28 bus initiative by both the city and the MBTA showed mixed results: Ridership was up and boarding was quicker during the first four months of the program. Yet only 5 percent of survey respondents said they would have taken a car if not for the free bus trip, undermining the claim that free transit is a climate initiative or a cure for urban congestion.<\/p>\n The reports also found that two-thirds of riders \u2014 those who had monthly passes or needed to transfer to other buses or trains \u2014 saved no money at all.<\/p>\n Other cities\u2019 experiments with fare-free transit have revealed a few harsh realities about what sounds like a great boon for transit riders.<\/p>\n First, while ridership on the free lines usually goes up, generally the boost comes from those who might typically bike or walk, rather than pulling people out of their cars.<\/p>\n Second, riders \u2014 including those with low incomes \u2014 consistently say that what really matters to them is whether the bus comes frequently enough to be useful.<\/p>\n \u201cLow-income riders are just as time sensitive, if not more time sensitive, than middle-income and upper-income riders,\u201d said Zabe Bent, director of design at the National Association of City Transportation Officials. \u201cAnd a lot of that is because they’re one missed bus away from losing their jobs or getting a reprimand on their job, or late fees or childcare penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n The transit think tank TransitCenter, which wrote two reports<\/a> on free transit,<\/a> advocates for targeted subsidies for riders who need it and encouraging employers to offer free transit passes to workers, rather than eliminating fares across the board.<\/p>\n Houssam Elokda, a community designer and transit planner who works at Happy Cities, an urban design firm, agreed that achieving equity isn\u2019t as simple as just making transit free.<\/p>\n \u201cCars are much more expensive than transit,\u201d Elokda said. \u201cPeople are willing to pay more to drive a car to gain that convenience. So until transit can match that convenience, it’ll be no match for the car.\u201d<\/p>\n TransitCenter also argues that free transit programs can backfire if cities don\u2019t match it with service improvements. \u201cRidership increasing is the desired outcome, but without sufficient revenue to increase service in response to new demand, agencies run the risk that riders will be turned off by delays and overcrowding,\u201d they wrote. \u201cIn fact, that\u2019s what happened in several US cities who tried free transit but abandoned the projects after they created more problems than they solved.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the multimillion dollar question of long-term funding. In Boston, Wu\u2019s fare free bus pilot program relies on a one-time infusion of $8 million from the federal government. Worcester\u2019s transit authority also used federal pandemic relief funds to keep its buses free.<\/p>\n When that dries up, it\u2019s unclear where the money will come from to keep these programs rolling.<\/p>\n Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Ed Markey\u2019s legislation to establish a $5 billion federal grant program to help transit agencies offset lost fare revenue from the programs hasn\u2019t gained traction in Washington. And their push for funding through the Biden administration\u2019s Build Back Better proposal stalled along with the rest of the social spending plan.<\/p>\n The MBTA gets around 40 percent of its revenue from the farebox. For big urban systems that traditionally struggle to fund even basic infrastructure repair and operations, it would be up to city and state governments to not only backfill lost farebox revenues but increase funding to allow for service improvements.<\/p>\n \u201cFunding from fares is not enough to ensure that systems work well,\u201d Wu said. \u201cPublic transportation is a public good. It is as fundamental as our parks and libraries and schools and public education, and we need to fund it as such.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s debate among Massachusetts Democrats about whether public transit should be free or simply cheaper. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, a leading contender for lieutenant governor, argued in a recent WCVB interview<\/a> that completely eliminating fares would make it harder to invest in a transportation system that needs significant improvements and is currently undergoing a federal safety review.<\/p>\n Still, as prices soar and transit systems struggle to recapture riders, free bus and train rides are increasingly alluring across the country.<\/p>\n And Jim Aloisi, a former Massachusetts transportation secretary who supports both Wu and her push for fare-free transit, pointed to the data from Boston\u2019s bus pilot program.<\/p>\n \u201cHow do you know what you\u2019re doing is right? You look at the data,\u201d Aloisi said. \u201cAnd what the data say is ridership goes up, people board faster, it\u2019s a better experience. Tell me what\u2019s not to like?\u201d<\/p>\nFrom policy to politics<\/h4>\n
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