WRTA board votes for another year of free fares, with long-term solution on the horizon

Photo | Grant Welker The WRTA main hub on Foster Street in downtown Worcester

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By Katherine Hamilton

On Thursday morning, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority board voted unanimously to continue its free fare program through the entirety of 2022, and began laying out a plan for a longer term solution.

Along with approving another year of free fares, the board also unanimously voted to start revising the fare policy. Free fares were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to $5 million in federal aid brought in from the crisis, but due to popularity the program was extended until the end of 2021 by the board.

“This isn’t a long-term solution,” WRTA Administrator Dennis Lipka said in a phone interview, referring to the zero-fare program. He said the votes for a new policy will help create a sustainable solution to the question of fare-free transit.

He said once the federal funding runs out, the board will need to find a replacement for the revenue lost if a fare-free system is implemented.

In a third vote, the board agreed to move ahead with purchasing a new fare collection system. The new collection system will transition away from cash purchases of fares to card payments, either by credit card or a WRTA card, said Lipka.