Free Worcester-Area Buses To Stay Through 2024, WRTA Board Decides

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester Regional Transit Authority buses will remain free for another year, the transit agency's board has decided.

The WRTA board Thursday passed a fiscal 2024 budget that pays for the fare-free policy through at least June 2024. The policy will be paid for using federal CARES Act funds — the first federal stimulus dollars given to governments during the pandemic.

The WRTA free-fare policy began in March 2020 as a safety measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the WRTA board has voted to extend it multiple times, including a vote in September.

Thursday's vote follows a preliminary vote in March where the WRTA Advisory Board Working Audit and Finance Committee voted unanimously to recommend using CARES Act money to pay for another year of free buses.

The fiscal 2024 WRTA budget was set at $34.4 million, which is about $2 million higher than in fiscal 2023. Out of the full budget, the free-fare policy will cost about $3.6 million. WRTA has close to $20 million in CARES Act funds available.

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