In a program being imitated by Metro Transit, Boston waived fares in March 2022 on three heavily used bus routes that serve diverse neighborhoods. 'It's incredibly exciting to hear other communities are getting access to what they need for their health and well-being and daily lives,' said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a passionate advocate for free transit whose rallying cry is 'Free the T' - that city's vast public transportation system. Eliminating fares, they say, helps mitigate economic and racial disparities and gets greenhouse gas-spewing cars off the roads. Proponents say public transportation should be free for all - much like other services subsidized by taxpayers, such as libraries, parks and highways. Some 34 transit agencies across the United States offer some kind of free service, largely in an effort to boost ridership that plummeted during the COVID-19 outbreak. With the program, Metro Transit is tentatively embracing a budding national movement calling for public transit service to be free to millions of users. Paul along Rice Street, won't be charging fares for the next 18 months - part of a pilot program advanced by the Legislature this session. 'That is a very good idea,' said the retired Navy veteran, who depends on public transportation to get around.īoth Route 32, a workhorse line that stretches from Roseville to Robbinsdale through Sulem's northeast Minneapolis neighborhood, and Route 62 connecting Shoreview and West St.

When told that service on Metro Transit's Route 32 bus would be free beginning July 1, David Sulem seemed astonished, even a bit gobsmacked.

Metro 4 free