On Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Wu formally announced the City of Boston would continue to support fare-free operations on three Dorchester and Mattapan bus routes until March 2026.
The MBTA hasn't collected fares on Route 28, the state’s busiest bus line, since the fall of 2021, when Mayor Kim Janey initiated the city's first fare-free bus pilot program.
Mayor Wu pledged to expand the program to routes 23 and 29 a few months later, on her first day in office.
The current fare-free program was set to expire in late February of this year.
But Mayor Wu announced that the City will continue to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pandemic relief funding to reimburse the MBTA for its foregone fare revenues on these three bus routes two more years.
“Fare free bus routes have been proven to make public transportation more convenient, accessible, and affordable for our residents who depend on transit to get to work and school,” said Mayor Wu in a press statement issued Tuesday afternoon. “Community members have emphasized that this program helps them save money, and encourages more trips without worrying about exact change or rationing travel.”
