BOSTON — Three MBTA bus routes will be free for riders for two years, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak announced Wednesday.
Riders of the 23, 28 and 29 bus routes will not be charged fares starting March 1. The city will reimburse the MBTA for the fares through an $8 million relief fund Boston received from the federal government.
The 23 Bus line serves Ashmont, Dorchester Center, Grove Hall and Ruggles; the 28 Bus line serves Mattapan Square, Blue Hill Avenue, Nubian Square and Ruggles; and the 29 Bus line serves Mattapan Square, Blue Hill Avenue and Jackson Square.
Each bus line serves Blue Hill Avenue, which has been identified as one of the corridors that should be prioritized for improvements to increase reliability and boost ridership, the city said. This program extends the highly successful fare-free Route 28 pilot program and eliminates fares on two other crucial bus routes.
“Expanding fare-free transit to Routes 23, 28, 29 will better connect our communities, increase ridership, and ease congestion for all our residents,” Wu said. “As we work to ensure every resident knows about the program, we hope this is just the beginning of access to fare-free public transit in Boston.”
The three routes are some of the routes with the highest ridership throughout the city of Boston.
Source: Three bus routes in Boston will be fare free for two years, Mayor Wu announces (wcvb.com)