WRTA Free Bus Fare Vote Postponed Due To Snowstorm

WORCESTER, MA — A Thursday meeting of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) board has been canceled due to an impending snowstorm — and that means a vote on whether to start enforcing the $1.75 fare again may be delayed.

WRTA has not been enforcing fare collection since March 31, when the transit agency enacted a rear-door boarding policy during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The rear-door boarding policy ended in June, but WRTA did not begin collecting fares again. The WRTA board was expected to vote on whether to begin fare enforcement again at the Dec. 17 meeting.

The decision on fares also comes as a movement to make the bus system permanently free begins anew. The Zero Fare WRTA group held a forum on the idea on Nov. 30 featuring state and local lawmakers like Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, state Sen. Harriette Chandler and state Rep. David LeBoeuf.

Worcester City Councilor Gary Rosen has also called for local hearings on the idea, which was first proposed in a 2019 report by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau — and backed by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The next WRTA board meeting will happen on Jan. 21.