{"id":2344,"date":"2026-06-09T21:04:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344"},"modified":"2026-06-09T21:04:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:04:34","slug":"boston-mbta-say-fare-free-bus-program-will-now-run-through-at-least-the-end-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344","title":{"rendered":"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>Three MBTA bus routes will remain free to ride through the end of the year, Mayor Michelle Wu and the MBTA announced Tuesday, just weeks before the fare-free pilot program was again set to run out of funding. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2342\">Happy hour comeback? Healey, once wary of idea, says she supports local option for discounted drinks.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Wu\u2019s office and the MBTA did not immediately answer questions about how much the program\u2019s extension will cost.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Officials also did not explicitly say whether the city \u2014 which has covered the costs with federal money \u2014 the transit agency, or both entities would pay for temporary extension. But Wu\u2019s office said in a news release Tuesday that the MBTA\u2019s reduced fare program \u201cresulted in cost savings that are being applied to deliver this extension through the end of the year,\u201d and that the city \u201canticipates working this summer and fall on options for the fare free program in 2027.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The question of where the money comes from to keep rides free on bus routes 23, 28, and 29 \u2014 which go through Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury \u2014 have animated concerns of transit advocates about the pilot program\u2019s long-term future. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Wu first eliminated fares on the MBTA\u2019s 23, 28, and 29 routes in March 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Then, in February 2024, Wu again used federal COVID-19 funds to reimburse the MBTA and continue the pilot program for an additional two years. That money was set to run out at the end of February, but roughly a week before, city officials announced that enough of those funds remained to pay for the program through the end of this month. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2340\">Follow live election results from the Maine Senate primary<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Transit advocates have pushed Wu and city officials to find a long-term, sustainable funding source to continue the program. In February, Wu\u2019s office said the city is discussing the future of the program with the MBTA. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a statement Tuesday, MBTA general manager Phil Eng thanked Wu for her partnership in the effort to continue the program. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m glad to support the extension of the City\u2019s Fare-Free Program, ensuring that the City\u2019s dollars can go farther for their residents,\u201d Eng said. \u201cThe MBTA is happy to collaborate with our municipal partners on efforts that make public transit easier to use and more widely available.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Wu also celebrated the news of the program\u2019s extension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cFare-free buses are delivering results for residents \u2014 saving commuters money, easing traffic, and growing our economy by connecting Bostonians to work, fun, and family,\u201d Wu said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to partner with the MBTA to extend this successful program as we continue building a more reliable, accessible, and affordable transportation system across Boston.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2338\">House advances bill to fund Trump\u2019s immigration actions for the rest of his term<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span><i>This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mayor Michelle Wu&#8217;s office and the MBTA did not immediately answer questions about how much it will cost to continue the program. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026 - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026 - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mayor Michelle Wu&#039;s office and the MBTA did not immediately answer questions about how much it will cost to continue the program.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T21:04:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T21:04:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344\"},\"wordCount\":492,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344\",\"name\":\"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026 - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T21:04:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":1049},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2344#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026 - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026 - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"Mayor Michelle Wu's office and the MBTA did not immediately answer questions about how much it will cost to continue the program.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T21:04:34+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026","datePublished":"2026-06-09T21:04:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344"},"wordCount":492,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344","name":"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026 - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-09T21:04:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bc55a79b1124731c64ac6b74a9fef94f.avif","width":1440,"height":1049},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2344#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Boston, MBTA say fare-free bus program will now run through at least the end of 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}