Two MBTA bus lines would join the Route 28 bus in becoming fare-free, under a proposal put forward on Wednesday by Mayor Michelle Wu.
Wu, who campaigned on the concept of a fare-free public transit system, filed an appropriations request for $8 million to fund the three bus lines as an expansion of a pilot launched earlier this year by her predecessor, Acting Mayor Kim Janey.
The proposal requires sign-off from the City Council. During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, District 4 Councillor Andrea Campbell objected to moving ahead with a vote on the proposal, saying there hadn’t been a public discussion about it, according to GBH.
The 28 bus is currently fare-free through the end of the year. The route was originally fare-free until Nov. 29, as part of a pilot.
The 28 bus runs from Nubian Square in Roxbury to Mattapan Square. The 23 bus runs from Dorchester’s Ashmont Red Line station up to Ruggles, an Orange Line MBTA station in Roxbury, while the 29 bus runs from Mattapan Square, down Blue Hill Avenue and then over to Jackson Square in Jamaica Plain.
The lines serve a “diverse ridership,” and a two-year pilot would help to measure the benefits of fare-free bus service, such as increased ridership, faster buses, less traffic, and business development along the route; ensure that word spreads across neighborhoods, and provide the opportunity for riders to integrate fare-free lines into their daily routines,” the Wu administration said in a release.
