Michelle Wu seeks money to make three MBTA bus lines free

One of Mayor Michelle Wu’s first moves on her first full day in the big office is to seek cash to make three bus lines free for the next two years.

Wu announced Wednesday that she’d be seeking $8 million to make the 23, 28 and 29 buses free through the end of 2023.

Such a move would require the approval of the City Council. Wu’s office said this is being done in partnership with the MBTA.

The 28 has been fare-free for several months under a pilot program started by then-Acting Mayor Kim Janey. That bus heads up Blue Hill Avenue from Mattapan Square, through Roxbury and to the Longwood medical area.

The 23 runs from Ashmont through Grove Hall and to Ruggles, and the 29 goes from Mattapan Square to Jackson Square. All of these bus lines head through the Blue Hill Ave. corridor, an area with higher numbers of residents of color, and which the subway map doesn’t really cover.

“The two-year investment will allow the City of Boston and transit partners 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,” Wu’s office said..

Wu has long sought to “free the T.” She doesn’t have the direct power to do so — the city doesn’t run the MBTA — but the T has been receptive to moves like this one.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3nokG6I