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HD 6175

A communication from the Department of Transportation (see item 1596-2406 of Section 2 of Chapter 140 of the Acts of 2024) submitting the MassDOT Rail and Transit Division Fare Free Pilot Program for regional transit authorities annual report for fiscal year 2025

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

MassDOT’s FY25 Fare Free Pilot shows statewide fixed-route ridership up 20.2%, but fixed-route fare revenue down ~60% and FRR at 2.6%, with wider funding and future expansion plann

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Bill Summary · HD 6175

Overview

  • Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
  • Bill: HD 6175
  • Session: 194th
  • Topic: MassDOT Rail & Transit Division Fare Free Pilot Program – FY2025 annual report and program details
  • Purpose: Present final results and analysis of the FY25 Fare Free Pilot Program for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), required by the FY2025 Massachusetts Budget Act (Chapter 140 of the Acts of 2024, Section 1596-2406)

Main purpose and intent

  • Document the outcomes of the FY25 Fare Free Pilot Program funded by the Commonwealth (Massachusetts Budget Act provides $30 million in operating funds to RTAs for fare free pilots).
  • Assess ridership changes, fare revenue implications, and farebox recovery under expanded, continuous fare-free operations.
  • Provide data-driven insights to inform future funding decisions and program design, including whether to continue, expand, or modify fare-free offerings.

Key provisions and changes highlighted

  • Funding and program structure:
    • FY25Fare Free funding: $30 million total awarded via a competitive process; 13 of 15 RTAs participated (CCRTA and GATRA did not participate in FY25 fare-free fixed-route service; GATRA used carryover FY24 funds in part of FY25).
    • Program requirement: RTAs must provide completely fare-free year-round fixed route service and report ridership data; continuous fare-free operation emphasized.
    • FY26 note: Legislature provided an additional $35 million for fare-free service; all 15 RTAs are required to offer fare-free fixed-route and ADA paratransit services under enabling FY26 legislation.
  • Grant criteria:
    • Priority for systemwide, year-round fare-free service with ridership tracking.
    • Emphasis on increased ridership and accessibility for low-income individuals.
    • Clear project scope, funding rationale, and implementation schedule.
    • Bonus points for joint applications across RTAs to achieve cost efficiencies.
  • Data and evaluation:
    • Data sources: monthly Service Data Reports, one-time progress reports, rider counts via fareboxes, APCs, or manual counts.
    • Analysis categories: fixed-route ridership, fixed-route fare revenue, farebox recovery ratio (FRR), demand-response ridership, and revenue, with cohort comparisons by duration of fare-free service (Pre-FY23, FY24 cohort, FY25 cohort).
    • FY25 data cover period when some RTAs operated fare-free for most or all of the year, with some use of carryover FY24 funds.
  • Service types and cohorts:
    • Fixed-route and ADA paratransit are primary focus; demand-response data analyzed separately due to diversity in fare structures.
    • Cohorts:
    • Pre-FY23 Cohort: long-standing fare-free providers (e.g., FRTA, WRTA, MeVa with earlier continuous service).
    • FY24 Cohort: RTAs launching continuous fare-free service in FY24.
    • FY25 Cohort: RTAs launching continuous fare-free service in FY25.

Who or what is affected

  • Affected entities: Thirteen participating RTAs (out of fifteen) operating in Massachusetts.
    • Participating RTAs include BAT, BRTA, CATA, FRTA, LRTA, MART, MeVa, MWRTA, NRTA, PVTA, SRTA, VTA, WRTA.
    • Non-participants in FY25 fare-free program: CCRTA, GATRA (data limited in FY25).
  • Riders: Low-income individuals, seniors, people with disabilities, and general public beneficiaries who gain fare-free access on fixed routes and ADA/paratransit where applicable.
  • Service operations: RTAs’ fixed-route networks, ADA paratransit, and certain demand-response services; some microtransit and COA services were selectively fare-free depending on RTA.

Significant findings and impacts

  • Ridership:
    • Most RTAs saw increases in fixed-route ridership in FY25 versus FY24; several surpassed FY19 pre-pandemic ridership levels.
    • Growth strongest in RTAs that had continuous fare-free service for one year or longer; early adopters (Pre-FY23 cohort) showed substantial growth from FY19 to FY25, but year-over-year gains from FY24 to FY25 varied.
    • Overall statewide fixed-route ridership (UPT) rose by 20.2% from FY24 to FY25; 30.36 million UPT in FY25 across all RTAs, 14% above FY19.
    • December FY25 saw a broad uplift in ridership across participating RTAs compared with December FY24.
  • Fare revenue and FRR:
    • Fixed-route fare revenues declined significantly with fare-free operations.
    • Total fixed-route fare revenue across all RTAs fell by about 60% from FY24 ($11.5M) to FY25 ($4.7M).
    • Farebox Recovery Ratio (FRR) for fixed-route across all RTAs in FY25 dropped to 2.6% (from 6.1% in FY24), reflecting heavier reliance on state funding and increased service, with some incidental fare revenue still occurring.
    • Demand-response FRR also declined in many RTAs due to expanded fare-free demand-response service; overall DR FRR averaged around 4-5% in FY25 for many RTAs, with BAT and MART showing higher DR fare revenues due to HST-related services.
  • Demand-response:
    • DR ridership generally rose (average ~11.9% for participating RTAs in FY25), with NRTA seeing a particularly large DR ridership increase (>50%) due to its transition to fare-free DR service.
    • DR fare revenue rose modestly overall (~9% increase), driven largely by HST and other third-party reimbursements in certain RTAs.
  • Observations and customer feedback:
    • Broadly positive feedback from riders and staff; reduced dwell times and improved boarding efficiency noted by several RTAs.
    • Reported operational benefits include faster boarding, reduced cash handling, and improved accessibility; some concerns about crowding and capacity on certain routes.
    • Many RTAs express willingness to continue fare-free service if ongoing funding is available.
  • Appendices and profiles:
    • Appendix A provides RTA fare-free profiles; Appendix C offers background on RTA service structures.
    • Glossary (Appendix B) clarifies terms used (e.g., FRR, UPT, ADA, COA, HST).

Procedural and timeline elements

  • Legislation and reporting timeline:
    • FY2025 Budget Act section 1596-2406 required MassDOT RTD to allocate at least $30 million to RTAs for fare-free pilots and to provide grant criteria, recipient lists, proposals, ridership and fare data, and data-tracking mechanisms.
    • MassDOT RTD submitted an initial status report; this Final Report (March 2026) fulfills requirements 5 and 6 (ridership/fare data and tracking mechanisms).
  • Data timeline:
    • FY25 data cover the fiscal year, with some FY24 carryover funding used for portions of FY25; does not cover FY26 revenue data as ridership data for FY26 was not yet available at report time.
  • Future funding context:
    • FY26 funding and program requirements expand to include all 15 RTAs; continued evaluation and data collection anticipated to inform ongoing policy and funding decisions.

If you’d like, I can extract key figures (ridership totals, FRR percentages, and revenue amounts) into a concise data table or provide a one-page briefing with bullet-point takeaways for policymakers.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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