NEW BEDFORD — The South Coast’s regional bus service will go fare-free and introduce Sunday service in January.
All of SRTA’s buses will be free to ride from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2024, as part of its “Try Transit” initiative, funded by a grant from the state. The first Sunday buses will start in the same month, but no launch date has been chosen yet.
“This is absolutely a benefit to the public, and there’s going to be an economic benefit to the city and to the region as a result,” said Shayne Trimbell, SRTA’s director of transit planning.
The changes are part of the transit authority’s push to become more accessible and convenient in the new year, which officials hope will get more riders on board. They come as the city prepares for its new MBTA commuter rail stations to open next summer — SRTA (Southeastern Regional Transit Authority) also has plans to add extra service connecting to the stations.
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Eliminating fares means bus riders will have extra money in their pockets to spend at local businesses or save for their future, Trimbell said. He expects the change to have the greatest impact on low-income riders who limit their trips to save money.
Officials also expect to see more on-time arrivals because buses won’t have to idle as riders pay fares. That’s something they noticed when SRTA piloted fare-free rides during the pandemic.
While the $1.50 fare per ride might not seem much to some, it can add up for low-income families, said Sabrina Davis. She’s a SRTA rider based in Fall River and the organizer of Bus Riders United, a coalition that advocates for better public transportation in southeastern Massachusetts.
“It’s a drastic improvement to their lives,” she said. “It’s money saved.”
Families sometimes have to make the choice between paying for a meal and paying for the bus, Davis said. She hopes SRTA will find a way to continue funding free fares after the grant runs out in June.
She also praised the decision to add Sunday buses, which is a permanent change. That will allow workers more flexibility to pick up shifts on those days or accept a job that schedules them on the weekend, she said.
Adding this service is a matter of equity for those who don’t work standard nine-to-fives and can’t afford a car, Trimbell said.
“Just like we don’t roll up the on-ramps to the highway on Sundays, we shouldn’t be closing the doors to the bus on Sundays,” he said.
SRTA is joining a growing number of transit authorities across the country experimenting with free fares, said Chris Dempsey, a transit advocate who served as the state’s assistant secretary of transportation under Gov. Deval Patrick. He said it’s a good idea for governments to experiment with pilot programs like this, but he acknowledged that free fares come at a cost.
“It reduces the amount of funding that is available to run the system, which by definition means the agency has to make other trade-offs in the service they provide,” he said. “Regional transit providers have to be asking themselves those tough questions.”
Still, Dempsey said free fares make sense for authorities in gateway cities because their riders tend to be predominantly low-income and fares make up a relatively small portion of their revenue. For SRTA, fares only cover about 15% of the cost for each trip, Trimbell said.
Dempsey said he’s hopeful that state leaders will continue to provide funding for local transit authorities to improve their service and experiment with free fares, a trend that began during the pandemic.
“We came to understand during COVID just how essential transit service is,” he said. “The people taking transit in March, April, May, 2020, were the people who were keeping civilization going for us.”
Down the road …
SRTA is also working toward several long-term goals to improve its service. The authority is now in the process of adding hybrid vehicles to its fleet, which are more efficient and quieter. In six years there will be 34 of these buses on the road.
The authority also plans to build up the infrastructure at its bus stops to provide more benches, shelters, and lighting, as well as better signage. More prominent signs with more information for riders could start arriving as soon as next year.
SRTA currently runs 25 fixed routes stopping at locations in New Bedford, Fall River, and the surrounding towns. It also operates on-demand transportation services for disabled riders. Buses run Monday through Friday from 5:20 a.m. until 9:40 p.m. and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9:05 p.m.
Over the next five to 10 years, SRTA plans to continue expanding bus service. That includes reducing wait times on all routes to 30 minutes or less, with the most popular routes running every 15 minutes. It also includes running buses past 10 p.m. to accommodate workers on later shifts.
But it will all depend on funding.
“We’ve looked at the cost of providing that — it’s very expensive,” Trimbell said. “We’re trying to do the most we can with the dollars we have.”
To Trimbell, investing in public transit is a way to help New Bedford residents build wealth.
“If we want to give people the opportunity to improve their economic position in life, we need to give them options other than the most expensive way to travel, and that’s the car,” he said.
Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org
