A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number #2024-13 , regarding fare free Bus Program and Planning for Red Line Shutdown

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development SANDRA CLARKE Deputy Director Chief of Administration 344 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] www.cambridgema.gov Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 To: Yi-An Huang, City Manager From: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Re: Awaiting Report Item AR-24-13: Report on meeting with MBTA and City of Boston in advance of the July Red Line shutdown about the implementation of a fare-free #1 bus program I am writing in response to Awaiting Report Item AR-24-13 to provide an update on meetings with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and City of Boston on implementing a fare-free MBTA bus Route 1. Fare-free bus routes are an exciting opportunity to improve service quality, make transportation affordable, and reduce conflicts for bus operators. The MBTA Route 1 is, specifically, an opportunity for municipal collaboration on a route that connects many people and important neighborhoods. Staff from the Community Development Department (CDD) and the City Manager’s office have had conversations with the City of Boston and MBTA about this potential collaboration. The MBTA has been supportive of fare-free bus route programs but expects challenging financial conditions with its upcoming annual budgets. Thus, implementing fare-free bus routes will be feasible only if cities will cover the foregone fare revenue for the bus route and “THE RIDE” paratransit service along the route. At this point, the MBTA cannot fund fare-free routes relying on its own budget. Both the cities of Cambridge and Boston are well into the development of the fiscal year 2024-25 budget. It would be challenging to identify funding for a fare-free program for the upcoming fiscal year. The joint municipal cost of a fare-free Route 1 is estimated to be at least $2.3-$3.2 million per year. We estimate the Cambridge part of the program would be at least $1.0 to $1.3 million annually. The MBTA is advancing two important initiatives. They recently announced the summer 2024 launch of an income-qualified discounted fare and pass program to address barriers for low-income households. They also expect to reach the next step in their fare modernization in the next year. This will mean riders board and pay at all doors on buses, reducing time spent at stops. Together, these will have similar benefits for affordability and service quality as fare-free routes. It will be helpful to see the results of these initiatives before making a decision on fare-free bus routes. We recommend reconsidering this proposal during the development of fiscal year 2026 budget. In the short term, we are continuing to advocate strongly for fare-free buses as mitigation for the upcoming Red Line shutdowns in Cambridge. The MBTA has stated that they will consider making bus routes fare-free where the route has significant geographical overlap with the closed sections of the Red Line.