WRTA
News topics:
New Year, New Look, New Amenities for Worcester’s RTA
The Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) is rolling out a new bus tracking system, renovating its central bus waiting room at Union Station, and preparing a major agency-wide rebranding that will give Worcester's transit buses a fresh new paint job.
January 8, 2026
Gov. Healey Announces $30 Million For Fare-Free RTA Service
State lawmakers set aside $30 million in funding to help regional transit authorities offer free service to their communities.
October 25, 2024
Mass. Senate Proposes Fare-Free Buses for Regional Transit Authorities Statewide (But Not the T)
The budget-writing committee of the Massachusetts Senate published its 2025 spending recommendations this week, with a notable increase in funding for the state's Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs).
May 10, 2024
Worcester RTA Board Votes to Extend Fare-Free Buses Through 2025
The governing board of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) has formally voted to extend fare-free operations into mid-2025, extending the agency's distinction as the longest-running fare-free transit network in the United States.
April 18, 2024
Worcester Is Poised to Renew Fare-Free Transit Policy for One More Year
Last month, the governing board of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) has directed the agency's administration to prepare a 2025 budget that assumes one more year of fare-free operation.
April 1, 2024
Poll Finds Overwhelming Public Support for Worcester’s Fare-Free Buses
A new MassINC poll of residents who live in the greater Worcester region found that the public overwhelmingly supports the city's fare-free bus program, which as been in place since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
March 20, 2024
New Year, No Fares: Beacon Hill Bankrolls Dozens of Free Bus Routes Statewide
The state budget that lawmakers passed last summer is bankrolling a major expansion in popular fare-free bus routes across the entire Commonwealth this winter.
January 5, 2024
Worcester’s Buses Will Remain Fare-Free Through 2024
Worcester's transit system will be the longest-running fare-free transit network in the United States.
April 20, 2023
Running Low On Pandemic Relief Funds, Fare-Free Buses Need Gov. Healey’s Help
The WRTA has been one of the few agencies that's maintained a continuous fare-free policy since March 2020, and its ridership last year was over 20 percent higher than it was in 2019, before the pandemic began, according to federal data.
April 11, 2023
RTAs Are Giving Their Riders A Holiday Bonus
All 15 of the commonwealth's Regional Transit Authorities (every non-MBTA bus route in the state, in other words) will suspend fare collection for the holiday season, from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year's Eve.
November 21, 2022
