BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu extended the fare-free pilot on the Route 28 bus for another two months as she tries to work out an arrangement with the MBTA that would allow the service to run longer.
The move to extend the pilot from the end of December to the end of February indicates no agreement has been reached despite ongoing negotiations with the MBTA and Wu broaching the matter with US Transportation Pete Buttigieg on a recent trip to the White House.
Wu won City Council approval to spend $8 million in federal funding to eliminate fares for two years on the 28, 29, and 23 bus routes. Former Boston acting mayor Kim Janey had launched a four-month fare free pilot on the 28 bus in September, which was scheduled to run out on December 31. City officials say they will now use a portion of the $8 million to extend the 28 bus pilot through February.
Wu’s plan for two-year, fare-free bus pilots ran into a snag with Federal Transit Administration guidelines for pilot projects. Under FTA guidelines, any pilot project that extends beyond six months is considered permanent and requires a fare equity analysis to determine if there is a disparate impact on riders on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Doing away with a bus fare would not trigger a disparate impact, but T officials are worried about what would happen if the money runs out at the end of the two-year pilot and fares have to be restored to maintain service. Raising fares on bus routes that serve lower-income residents could trigger disparate impacts, T officials say.
Wu raised the issue with Buttigieg on a recent trip to Washington but there is no indication yet that any sort of waiver is in the works.
Meet the Author
Editor, CommonWealth
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
In a press release issued by Wu’s office on Tuesday, both the mayor and T General Manager Steve Poftak were quoted speaking enthusiastically about the Route 28 bus pilot and its extension for another two months. Neither addressed what will happen at the end of the two months.
The 28 bus runs from Mattapan Square up Blue Hill Ave to Nubian Square and Ruggles. During the current pilot period, Wu’s office said ridership has reached 92 percent of pre-pandemic levels, while bus ridership overall is at just under 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
SHARE
