MTA fareless bus route program flops, leaving lawmakers frustrated

September 5, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE — THE PAUSE ON BUS FARES FOR FIVE ROUTES ended over the Labor Day weekend. The Metropolitan Transit Authority announced in July that it was ending the program and updated the announcement on Aug. 27. The MTA allocated $15 million from the state’s FY 2024 budget for the pilot program, which was expected to run for at least six months starting Sept. 24, 2023. The program’s goal was to study how fare-free service affects ridership, access, equity and fare evasion. One of the bus routes in the pilot served Brooklyn: the B-60 runs between Williamsburg and Canarsie, serving the employees of three area hospitals, including Woodhull and Wyckoff medical centers. Access-a-Ride trips originating or ending within ¾ of a mile of a B-60 bus stop were also fare-free.

The pilot program did not succeed in converting people from driving to using the MTA and the agency lost money. NYC Transit’s Interim President Demetrius Critchlow also pointed out that the program had the unintended effect of encouraging fare evasion.

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