MVRTA buses free in March 2022

Dec. 9—Buses will be free on fixed, local routes operated by the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority starting March 1, 2022.

Riders currently pay $1.25 to board those buses, which are based in Lawrence, Haverhill and Amesbury and operate throughout the Merrimack Valley.

EZ Trans, a special service that costs $2 for people with disabilities will now also be free.

The only exceptions to the new fare policy will be the Boston Commuter Bus, Route 99, which charges $5.

The new policy is made possible by federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES), the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).

"It was allocated to the Federal Transit Administration, and they're allocated to all FTA grantees by formula," said Noah Berger, administrator of the MVRTA.

At the same time, operating costs will be lower when no fares are collected, because fare collection is expensive, leaving just under .24 cents of income on every dollar that the buses bring in, Berger said.

"It's a very inefficient way of generating revenue," he said. "It's on the backs of our riding public."

Along with leaving money in people's pockets during difficult times, the Authority is also hoping that free fares will bring riders back in greater numbers.

There were 1,958,307 riders on fixed routes in fiscal 2019, prior to the pandemic, Berger said, and there were 994,873 riders in fiscal 2021, which ended in June. By another measure, ridership throughout the whole system in September 2021 was at 61 percent of its levels in September 2019.

But Berger points to the fact that ridership is now at 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels on three MVRTA bus routes that have been free in Lawrence since September 2019.

"The 80 percent is consistent in other places, like Worcester, where routes are free," he said. "What we're going to do is, we're going to market this like crazy."