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From YouTube: Fare Free Bus Announcement - 2/9/22
Description
Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a press conference to make a major transit announcement. She is joined by Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak.
A
I
am
proud
to
be
joined
today
by
our
chief
of
streets,
joshua
franklin
hodge
by
our
general
manager
of
the
mbta
cpoftec
by
members
of
our
city
team,
from
the
transportation
department
to
neighborhood
services
to
our
civic
community
engagement
cabinet,
our
comms
team.
Of
course.
Thank
you
all
so
much
for
being
here.
A
A
We
know
that
public
transit
is
a
public
good
and
it
should
be
funded
that
way.
It
is
true.
It
has
been
true
and-
and
I'm
so
grateful
to
colleagues
in
government
who
have
fought
for
this,
for
anyone
who
has
rallied
with
us
to
fight
fair
hikes
for
anyone
who
has
worried
about
how
to
afford
food
or
rent
or
how
to
make
ends
meet
because
transportation
is
just
yet
another
cost
in
that
family
budget.
A
A
We
know
that
bus
service
is
the
best
place
to
start,
because
it
is
speeding
up
our
buses
every
time
we
make
it
so
that
people
don't
have
to
wait
in
line
uncrinkle
those
dollar
bills
or
rumble
go
through
rummage
through
bags
to
get
out
that
path
to
pay.
We
have
seen
it
work
during
the
pandemic
and
we've
seen
it
work
on
the
28
bus.
A
We
are
looking
to
really
have
a
design
led
by
community
that
would
ensure
our
buses
move
in
a
in
a
fast
and
reliable
way
along
this
route
and
the
three
routes
all
connect
to
blue
hill
ave
to
make
sure
that
people
can
get
to
their
schools,
the
ymca
churches,
boys
and
girls,
club
universities
and
restaurants
and
small
businesses
along
the
way.
Thank
you
especially
to
our
federal
delegation,
congresswoman
presley
and
congressman
lynch,
who
secured
a
raise
grant
for
boston
to
be
able
to
apply
to
the
blue
hill
ave
redesign
project
as
well.
B
C
Hello,
everybody-
I
am
an
avid
28
writer,
I
live
in
mattapan
and
I'm
also
a
senior
citizen
and
this
bus
route
being
free
gives
me
the
opportunity
to
do
my
grocery
shopping.
My
laundry
my
gym
activity,
which
is
my
therapy
for
my
disabilities.
C
It
is
so
important
and
for
it
to
be
free,
it's
just
a
gift
that
keeps
giving
when
I
get
on
the
bus
nowadays
is
free
bus.
Everybody
gets
on
they're,
calm,
there's
no
hassle
and
there's
no
aggravation
about
having
to
stand
in
line.
Wait
for
somebody
with
money
to
come
on
or
a
bus,
just
little
teeny
things
that
can
piss
or
turn
a
person's
day
a
little
sour.
C
You
know
they
end
up
giving
it
back
to
you,
but
this
is
one
of
the
best
things
that
has
happened
in
the
city
and
I
think
that
to
be
able
to
feel
appreciated,
because
I
still
have
a
bus
pass
and
I
still
go
other
places,
but
this
is
my
vital
one,
the
one
that
I
have
to
go
to
you
know
my
drugstore.
Everything
is
here
that
I
do
and
I
just
absolutely
love
it
and
thank
you
to
kimchi
mayo
lynch,
everybody
for
making
this
happen.
For
us.
It's
a
wonderful
thing.
D
Thank
you,
mayor,
wu
and
good
morning,
everyone,
so
I'm
joshua
franklin,
hodge
chief
of
streets
for
the
city
and,
as
the
mayor
said,
I'm
excited
that
we're
here
today
to
announce
that
starting
march
1st,
the
23,
28
and
29
bus
routes
will
be
free
for
two
years.
You
can
hop
on
any
door,
no
bills,
no
charlie
card.
Anyone
can
ride
these
lines
for
free
starting
in
march.
D
D
I'm
grateful
to
everyone
who
has
played
a
role
in
bringing
us
to
where
we
are
today
in
this
moment
and
for
setting
the
stage
for
what
is
to
come
after
this
pilot.
The
path
to
get
here
would
not
have
happened
without
the
vision
and
the
sustained
leadership
of
then
councilor.
Now,
mayor
wu,
who
was
able
to
to
really
think
and
see
how
free
fares
could
change
the
relationship
that
we
have
with
public
transit
and
change
the
way
that
we
get
around
the
city.
D
We
believe
that
the
bus
will
deliver
the
most
to
the
most
people
when
it
is
freely
available
to
all
free
buses,
provide
benefits,
as
we've
heard,
to
the
people
who
ride
them,
but
they
also
send
a
message.
It
sends
the
message
that
this
bus
is
for
you
it's
for
me.
It's
for
anyone
who
wants
to
get
where
they're
trying
to
go.
D
But
let's
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
benefits.
More
specifically
of
the
free
bus,
free
fares
put
money
back
into
people's
pockets
and
time
back
into
their
day.
They
simplify
the
experience
of
riding
the
bus
and
they
make
it
more
convenient
for
the
kinds
of
quick
trips
that
people
sometimes
want
to
take
free
fares
bring
benefits
to
the
operation
of
the
bus
as
well.
D
D
We'll
be
releasing
a
detailed
evaluation
of
this
fair
free
pilot.
The
first
phase
of
this
pilot,
the
first
six
months
in
the
next
couple
of
weeks,
so
stay
tuned
for
lots
of
interesting
facts
and
and
insights
coming
out
of
that.
But
the
bottom
line
is
this:
free
fares
work
since
fares
came
off
the
28
bus
in
august
of
last
year,
we've
seen
ridership
surge
to
over
90
percent
of
pre-pandemic
levels,
almost
12
000
riders
a
day,
and
that
makes
the
28
the
most
popular
line
in
the
system.
D
D
All
of
this,
the
you
know
this.
This
idea
of
fair
free
transit
is,
is
rooted
in
a
vision
and
it's
a
it's
a
larger
vision
for
what
our,
what
our
streets
and
what
our
transportation
system
can
be.
It's
a
vision
of
a
city
where
everyone
has
access
to
affordable,
convenient
and
reliable
transportation
options
where
fewer
people
are
burdened
by
high
transportation
costs.
D
There's
a
lot
of
work
ahead,
state
local
federal
today's
announcement.
It's
a
start
down
a
path,
and
we
have
a
lot
of
building
that
we
need
to
do
to
get
towards
that
future
yep.
I
am
well
just
trying
to
keep
myself
organized
so
before
I
hand
it
over
to
general
manager
pofftec.
I
want
to
express
my
appreciation
to
him
and
his
team
at
the
mbta.
D
You
know
they've
been
willing
partners
in
this
project
and
it's
it's
no
small
thing.
When
you
go
to
any
organization,
a
business
or
government
and
say
you
know,
we
want
to
take
the
service
we
provide
and
we
want
to
make
it
free,
but
they've
been
they've,
been
willing
partners
in
in
working
through
the
complexities
of
this,
including
some
of
the
regulatory
challenges
with
folks
in
dc,
and
very
grateful
for
the
for
the
work
of
you
and
your
team.
D
This
two-year
pilot
is
a
time
to
learn
to
learn
about
the
ways
that
free
fairs
benefit
riders,
the
ways
they
connect
communities,
the
way
they
improve
operations
of
the
bus.
It's
also
a
time
to
learn
about
how
we're
going
to
the
best
ways
to
provide
long-term
funding
to
the
essential
public
service.
That
is
the
public
bus.
So
with
that,
thank
you
all
for
being
here
and
I
will
turn
it
over
now
to
general
manager,
steve
pofftak
from
the
t.
E
Thanks
to
all
of
you
for
being
here
this
morning,
I
particularly
I
want
to
return
the
thanks
to
both
mayor
wu
and
chief
of
streets,
joshua
franklin
hodge,
for
their
collaboration
on
this.
I
want
to
thank
everyone
at
btd
who
did
such
a
wonderful
job,
collaborating
with
our
team
as
we
work
through
some
of
the
complexities
of
getting
to
this
point.
E
We're
really
pleased
to
collaborate
with
the
city,
we're
pleased
to
collaborate
on
the
original
route,
28
pilot
and
now
to
expand
this
program
to
include
these
additional
routes
for
the
next
two
years,
customers
who've
received.
The
benefits
on
the
28
will
now
continue
to
receive
those
benefits
and
we've
expanded
to
a
a
an
additional
two
routes,
and
you
know
to
be
clear
and
to
give
credit
where
credit
is
due.
E
This
is
a
really
exciting
time
for
our
bus
customers
and
for
bus
customers
to
really
realize
the
full
benefit
of
what
we
want
to
offer.
We
need
municipal
partners
and
we
have
that
partner
with
the
great
team
here
at
the
city
of
boston,
we're
advancing
plans
to
rebuild
our
bus
facilities,
which
are
the
is
really
the
critical
next
step
in
electrifying
our
bus
fleets.
E
So
I
know
a
bus
yard
sounds
mundane,
sounds
boring,
but
it's
the
critical
next
step
into
in
electrifying,
our
bus
fleet,
a
redesigned
arbor
way
yard
will
go
from
119
buses
to
200
zero
emission
battery
electric
buses.
That
will
mean
40
percent
of
the
city's
bus
routes,
including
the
route
28,
will
be
served
by
battery
electric
buses.
This
is
great
news
for
our
communities.
It's
great
news
for
our
commuters.
It's
great
news
for
the
environment.
E
We're
also
also,
two
weeks
ago,
we
put
up
five
million
dollars
as
a
contribution
to
to
the
the
design
and
the
development
of
the
the
dedicated
bus
lane
that
we
are.
We
are
looking
forward
to
working
with
the
community
on
and
working
with,
the
city
on,
as
we
advance
that
concept
on
blue
hill
ave.
E
But
the
t
is
here:
we
are
putting
money
on
the
table
to
get
these
important
bus
infrastructure
changes
made,
and
we
look
forward
to
continuing
to
invest
in
better
bus
service
and
transit
vehicle
priority
across
the
system
alongside
our
partners
at
the
city,
and
we
look
forward
to
working
with
all
of
our
great
municipal
partners,
like
our
friends
here
in
boston,
to
deliver
a
bus
system,
the
bus
system
that
our
riders
deserve
thanks
again
for
joining
and
look
forward
to
working
with
this
great
team
going
forward.
Thank
you.
A
There
are
many
advocates
who
have
played
such
a
leadership
role
in
this
and-
and
there
are
too
many
here
to
thank
from
transit
matters
and
livable
streets
and
ace,
and
so
many
others
so
to
speak
on
behalf
of
everyone.
Who's
been
a
partner
in
the
communities,
I'd
like
to
invite
up
miss
miller,
miles
from
alternatives
for
community
and
environment.
F
We
have,
for
years
been
tossing
around
the
vision
of
free
buses,
and
in
that
vision
we
envisioned
how
you
could
reduce
the
cost
of
transportation,
not
just
for
the
person,
but
by
reducing
the
by
changing
over
to
free
fares.
F
You
could
not
have
there's
no
fair
evasion,
so
there's
a
justice
component
in
that
there's
adding
you
can't
evade
affair.
If
there
is
no
fear-
and
there
was
a
disproportionate
number
of
african-american
males
who
were
being
in
males
of
color,
who
were
being
cited
for
fair
evasion
in
the
past,
so
in
the
interest
of
social
justice,
free
fares
make
a
lot
of
sense.
F
We
had
conversations
during
boston,
green
fest
to
think
about
how
we
could
make
the
fans
free.
What
would
you
save
that
you
wouldn't
have
to
maintain
the
fare
gates?
I
mean
you
have
fare
gates.
You
count
how
many
people
get
on,
but
you
also
would
be
able
to
not
have
to
all
of
the
costs
that
were
being
poured
into.
Fair
collection
could
be
allocated
somewhere
else
to
make
the
tea
safer,
more
efficient,
more
sustainable.
F
You
know
invested
in
electric
buses
and
things
like
that.
There
was
a
64
hours
of
people's
lives.
Black
people
spend
64
more
hours
on
their
life
of
their
life
per
year,
riding
on
public
transit
than
white
people.
Now
that
is
something
that
was
documented
in
a
study
and
in
research
done
by
the
livable
streets
alliance.
One
of
my
groups
that
we
coalesce
with
so
we
are
going
to
add
back
more
time
into
our
life
when
the
bus
moves
more
quickly.
F
It
has
less
what
you
call
dwell
time
sitting
around
waiting
for
people
to
feed
money
in
and
what
happens
it
moves
faster.
It
reduces
the
greenhouse
gas
emissions
of
that
vehicle.
So
we're
really
excited
about
this
free
bus
pilot.
We're
also
excited
about
the
auburn
yard
and
the
electric
buses
that
are
coming
along.
We're
working
on
that
now
working
to
make
sure
that
we
have
a
clean,
green
and
affordable
public
transit
system
that
is
just
and
that
works
for
all.
So
we
say
free
the
t,
we're
really
excited
and
we're
really
excited
about.
F
Having
worked
with
mayor
wu
on
bringing
this
vision
to
pass
and
we're
we're
envisioning
when
all
of
the
buses
are
free,
not
just
the
23
28
and
29.
But
this
is
a
first
step
in
that
process.
So
we're
really
excited
for
the
city
of
boston,
for
the
planet
and
for
the
people,
and
I'm
so
glad
to
be
here
today
on
behalf
of
ace
alternatives
for
community
and
environment
and
the
t
riders
union
that
I
direct
during
transit
equity
month
that
was
proclaimed
by
mayor
wu
when
she
was
then
city
councilor.
F
A
And
the
the
you
know
we're
a
couple
weeks
out
from
being
able
to
actually
hop
on
the
buses
for
free.
But
we
wanted
to
come
here
today
and
the
real
purpose
is
that
we're
going
to
visit
some
of
the
small
businesses
in
grove
hall
and
help
spread.
The
word.
I've
heard
from
many
many
28
bus
riders
that
it
took
a
little
while
for
people
to
realize
that
this
change
was
coming
and
small
businesses
were
one
of
the
best
places
where
they
got
that
information.
G
Well,
thank
you
mayor,
that's
very
exciting,
so
just
a
couple
words.
First
of
all,
I
have
to
thank
my
transportation
colleagues
because
they're
the
ones
that
made
this
plaza,
where
we're
standing
possible
with
this
whole
redesign
and
what
I
would
say
very
quickly.
We
appreciate
mayor
will
for
taking
the
steps
to
make
the
ridership
free
and
one
of
boston's
challenged
economic
hardship.
This
acc,
this
action
makes
access
to
resources
such
as
our
covid
testing,
which
is
at
prince
hall,
masonic
lodge
or
healthcare
at
the
harvard
street
health
center
and
whittier
street.
G
So,
thank
you
and
now
we're
going
to
go,
be
some
of
the
businesses
along
this
area
and
I'm
appreciating
the
fact
that
you
speak
spanish
because
we're
going
to
have
some
spanish-speaking
businesses.
So
thank
you,
mayor.
A
So
the
question
is:
does
this
lead
to
an
entirely
or
do
I
hope
that
this
leads
to
an
entirely
free
mbta?
Absolutely
we've
been
talking
about
that
for
a
long
long
time.
You
know,
we
know
that
transportation
and
public
transit
in
particular,
is
the
foundation
of
so
much
it's
life-changing
when
we
can
remove
that
barrier
for
people.
A
Of
course,
there
are
costs
to
account,
for
there
are
coordination
and
logistical
details,
but
with
this
step
of
showing
what's
possible,
we
are
already
in
communication
with
several
other
municipalities
in
the
region
as
well
as
they
are
looking
to
potentially
start
fair
free
pilots
as
well,
and
so,
as
we
start
to
expand
the
number
of
routes
we'll
be
looking
to
our
general
manager
for
support
there.
E
I
think
there's
some,
you
know
I
think,
there's
some
important
questions
about
funding
that
would
need
to
be
answered
in
the
context
I
mean
we
view
this
as
as
a
pilot
you
know,
the
municipality
in
this
case,
boston
has
has
stepped
up
to
fund
it
and
we're
in
the
middle
of
a
joint
evaluation
of
it,
and
we
will
we'll
obviously
we'll
be
evaluating
not
only
the
first,
the
first
leg
of
it,
but
we'll
evaluate
this
two-year
leg.
E
That's
that's
coming
up
and
you
know
we
we
stand
willing
to
to
cooperate
with
municipal
partners
who
want
to
do
this
type
of
work,
but
I
think
you
know
there
are
some
larger
structural
questions
that
I
know
that
the
mayor
has
been
has
been
deeply
involved
in
and
you
know
we
look
forward
to
continuing
that
conversation.
A
The
question
is
what
happens
after
two
years,
and
what
about
that
funding?
There's
a
lot
of
work
and
leadership
happening
from
our
state
and
federal
partners.
This
will
to
find
that
sustainable
funding
source.
We
will
need
partnership.
We
will
need
help
from
other
levels
of
government
as
well.
We
are
grateful
to
be
able
to
apply
some
of
the
federal
relief
funds
for
the
pandemic
to
this.
H
A
Numbers
are
reported
weekly.
Oh
sorry,
I've
been
told
to
repeat
the
question
for
folks
who
are
watching
because
they
can't
hear
the
the
questions
being
asked.
So
do
we
see
any
progress
or
signs
for
hope?
Even
since
yesterday
and
the
numbers
coming
down
getting
closer
to
lifting
some
of
the
requirements,
it's
trending
in
the
right
direction,
our
numbers
come
in
on
a
weekly
basis
to
to
and
and
we
look
at
a
seven
day
average.
So
we
will
see
by
next
tuesday,
where
we
stand.
A
A
To
measure
success
for
this
pilot
and
how
and
and
how
often
do
you
plan
to
make
data
like
on
things
like
ridership
or
service
improvements
public,
so
people
can
follow
a
process
on
this
question
on
what
metrics
will
we
be
watching
for
success,
and
how
often
will
we
make
this
data
transparent?
I
mean,
I
hope,
often
but
I'll
defer.
I
D
So
to
answer
the
question
I
mean,
I
think
that
there
is
in
the
agreement
that
we
structured
with
the
mbta
there's
sort
of
some
formal
evaluation
steps
along
the
way
of
looking
at
you
know,
ridership
looking
at
bus
performance
looking
at
just
sort
of
the
the
way
that
this
does
or
does
not
impact
demand
on
the
system.
You
know
we
certainly
saw
with
the
28
pilot
that
there
was
a
significant
increase
in
demand
after
free
fares
went
into
effect,
and
so
we're
going
to
be
looking
at
all
of
that.
D
So
we
have
some
formal
reporting
steps.
I
believe
that
there
is
a
that
there'll
be
an
interim
annual
report
in
the
middle
of
the
two-year
mark
and
then
a
kind
of
wrap-up
report.
At
the
end,
a
lot
of
data
is
already
available
on
core
mbta
metrics
on
ridership
and
in
some
cases,
on
performance
of
the
bus
itself,
available
via
the
mbta
and
via
some
of
the
advocacy
organizations
like
transit
matters
that
collect
and
aggregate
that
data.
D
We're
also
going
to
be
looking
at
the
impact
of
this,
as
as
best
we
can
on
residents
and
on
the
communities
who
are
benefiting
from
this.
Some
of
that
is
going
to
be
quantitative,
trying
to
see
if
we
can
measure
economic
impact,
whether
it
has
benefits
to
local
businesses
along
these
routes.
Some
of
it
will
be
more
qualitative
and
talking
to
people
understanding
their
experiences,
understanding
their
perception
of
the
bus,
how
it's
changed
in
one
way
or
another
as
a
result
of
this
program.
D
So
I
think
it's
going
to
be
an
ongoing
set
of
evaluation
and
we
will
be
happy
and
excited
to
to
talk
about
it
and
share
more
information
as
we
go
through
this
process.
H
A
It's
really
been
such
a
collaborative
effort
and
again
so
much
love
to
btd
and
the
mbta,
and
even
our
our
partners
at
the
fta
and
at
the
secretary
of
transportation's
cabinet.
I
ca.
I
haven't
even
been
involved
in
a
fraction
of
the
conversations
that
have
been
ongoing,
but
there
was
some
question
about
what
the
length
of
the
pilot
could
be
and
again
very
grateful
that
that
could
be
resolved.
So
we
could
have
a
longer
pilot
beyond
six
months.
A
It
will
take
time
one
for
residents
to
know
what's
happening
and
to
be
able
to
build
this
into
their
daily
lives,
to
for
businesses,
to
make
decisions
and
and
for
three
for
us
to
really
see
the
impact
of
that
across
multiple
seasons
and
multiple
years.
So
it
was
really
important
that
we
could
have
that
longer
time
frame.
Just
like
the
city
of
lawrence
did
they
have
now
gone
past,
their
first
two-year
pilot
onto
their
next
two
years,
and
it's
it's
been
life-changing
over
there
as
well.
A
A
When
you
just
look
at
the
bus
system
right,
we
are
already
subsidizing
bus
service
so
much
with
all
of
the
need
for
fair
collection
and
checking
on
this,
and
that
the
advocacy
community
had
really
studied
what
it
would
look
like
to
to
just
replace
fares
coming
from
bus
rides
alone
and
the
estimates
there
were
a
little
over
60
million
dollars,
statewide
about
half
of
that
for
the
mbta
system
and
half
of
that
for
all
of
the
other
regional
transit
authorities
across
the
entire
state
of
massachusetts.
A
So
we
know
you
know
again.
There
are
lots
of
considerations
about
the
logistics
of
what
that
means
for
who's
riding
a
bus
versus
who
has
a
monthly
pass
across
bus
and
subway
and
all
of
that.
But
this
will
help
us
understand
that
a
bit
more
and
think
about
what
the
most
effective
next
steps
would
be.