Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
BROCKTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The City of Brockton is offering free bus trips for city residents through the end of this year, thanks to a state grant.
The program initially began on December 1 of last year and was scheduled to end on May 31 before it was extended.
Brockton Area Transit or BAT, has approximately 11,000 riders a day on their buses, which in a city of only 100,000 residents is a large percentage of the population.
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Michael Lambert, Administrator of Brockton Area Transit, told WBZ NewsRadio that the city is seeing record numbers of ridership.
Many people who take the bus in Brockton are low-income, so not needing to spend the money on bus fares every day is a little helpful. The system also offers various benefits to the BAT system too.
“You could certainly imagine that with an increase in ridership like we’ve seen, that could have a negative impact on service but because [it’s] free, it’s a lot easier to get people on and off the bus,” Lambert added.
The other idea behind the program is to eliminate vehicular traffic in the city by encouraging residents to use the buses instead.
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“So, we’ve been caught in sort of a difficult cycle for many years, and we’re hopeful that free fare takes some cars off the roads,” Lambert also said.
The bus system has also expanded its offerings to residents by launching a pilot program that reimburses people who take Ubers for transportation when the buses aren’t running.
Since the fare free bus program offers a meaningful economic boost to the city, he is hopeful that there will be more money in the budget to continue the program in the future.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports
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