Monday, February 10, 2020

Ridership up 24% on fare-free buses in Lawrence, MA.

“The amount of money we’re collecting in fares is so little that we just decided to cover that amount with city money,” Rivera said. “I don’t know what Worcester or Brockton’s money situation is but it can’t be worse than mine. What I would say is just do it, use your own money. I think you’re going to find it’s very inexpensive.” 
Free buses have proven to be popular in Lawrence. Surveys conducted on the three subsidized routes found that ridership jumped 24 percent. Ninety percent of those riders were commuting to work, the data showed, and 87 percent of them earned less than $20,000 per year. 
“It says there is a need,” Rivera said of the ridership bump. “People say, ‘Can a dollar really be an impediment to travel?’ But when it’s $2 every day for a year, that’s real money.”
https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20200209/lawrence-made-buses-free-could-brockton-do-same 

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