Mayor Siddiqui Announces the Formation of a Fare-Free Bus Pilot Working Group

Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui is organizing a working group to discuss the details of a fare-free bus pilot and appointing Councillor Burhan Azeem as Chair. The working group, in collaboration with the Community Development Department, will organize a series of meetings to inform the City’s strategy regarding a fare-free bus pilot in Cambridge.

As demonstrated by the recent fare-free bus pilots in Boston, offering free bus service is an effective means of attracting riders back to the MBTA system. As Cambridge and the region look to emerge from the pandemic with an equitable and efficient transit system in place, fare-free pilots could serve as an effective first step. The working group will be tasked with better understanding what implementation of a fare-free bus pilot would entail and what possible impacts would occur. Utilizing ridership data trends and guided by fare-free programs already in existence, the working group will report on the feasibility and timeline of a pilot in Cambridge.

“There is excitement building around the positive impacts of fare-free pilots in Boston, and this working group will help lay the groundwork for a pilot in Cambridge,” said Mayor Siddiqui. “It will serve as a collaborative effort between city staff and residents to determine the best way to move forward.”

The working group will include city staff as well a range of Cambridge MBTA users, including students, small business owners, and seniors. Local business owner Steven Beaucher, whose Mass Ave business sits next to numerous MBTA bus routes, noted, “I support the tapping of public funding to make select MBTA routes free to riders: to improve transportation accessibility for historically underserved communities; to remove financial barriers of entry for those it would benefit most; and to encourage new users to become regular riders.”

Sophie Goldman, a working group member who attends Cambridge Rindge and Latin and sits on the Cambridge Youth Policy Council Transit Committee noted, "There are so many people who have inadequate transportation access, and can not afford to take the bus. Fare-free buses will help to eliminate a transportation barrier."

The working group will meet bi-weekly over three months, starting at the beginning of March. All meetings will be available for public viewing but no public comment will be taken. Recommendations from the Working Group are expected in May, 2022.

Working Group Members will include:
John Attanucci, Cambridge Transit Advisory Committee
Burhan Azeem (Chair), Cambridge City Councilor
Joe Barr, Director of Traffic and Parking
Steven Beaucher, Small Business Owner
Lindsey Currier, Community Member
Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager, Community Development
Sophie Goldman, CRLS Student
Matt Nelson, City Manager’s Office
Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Environmental and Transportation Planning
Carl Rothenhaus, Community Member
Michael Scarlett, Chief of Staff, Office of Mayor Siddiqui
Saul Tannenbaum, Cambridge Transit Advisory Committee
Stacy Thompson, LivableStreets Alliance
Elaine Wen, CRLS Student

Please direct any questions to the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Michael Scarlett at mscarlett@cambridgema.gov.