In November, the MBTA expanded its Youth Pass reduced fare program for low-income young people to Attleboro, Framingham, Melrose, and Worcester. The Youth Pass is a special CharlieCard that offers half-priced MBTA fares to low-income youth in participating cities and towns. Partnering municipalities administer the program, including conducting outreach, reviewing applications to determine eligibility, and distributing the CharlieCards.

While the Youth Pass originally offered eligible riders a discount only on MBTA bus, light rail, and subway services, in July the MBTA expanded the program to also cover commuter rail, express bus, and ferry fares. This expansion of scope has allowed the program to grow geographically, adding Wakefield in September and the four communities in November. “We are excited to be increasing the number of participants and expanding the reach of this program beyond Greater Boston to Gateway Cities and other communities along the commuter rail network,” says Katie Kalugin, Transit Equity Programs Specialist at the MBTA. Municipalities interested in joining can contact youthpass@mbta.com for more information. Municipalities are eligible to participate if they are within the MBTA service area and if they are willing to administer the program to their residents.

Young people in participating municipalities can apply online for a Youth Pass CharlieCard. The Youth Pass offers riders a discount on any MBTA service but does not work on Regional Transit Authority or other non-MBTA services.

In November, advisory boards of two Regional Transit Authorities extended the suspension of their fare collection. Franklin Regional Transit Authority buses will remain fare-free through June 2022, while Worcester Regional Transit Authority will suspend fare collection on buses and paratransit through December 2022. In the interim, each will conduct public hearings to get community input on future fare collection policy. The WRTA Board also voted to create a new fare collection policy in 2022 and move forward with a new mobile fare payment system in 2023.

Two other initiatives recently announced both extensions and expansions. On December 1, Boston City Council approved Mayor Wu's proposal for funding to extend the fare-free MBTA Route 28 pilot through 2023 and add two additional bus routes. Also on December 1, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) Advisory Board voted to begin a two-year systemwide fare-free initiative that will start on March 1, 2022. This will expand MVRTA's current initiative that covers three of their bus routes. Administrator Noah Berger discussed MVRTA's current and future initiatives in a presentation at the 2021 MassDOT Moving Together Conference.

If your New Year’s Resolution is to help a neighbor or learn something new, consider becoming a driver in 2022. Many transit authorities and human service transportation providers are looking to hire drivers, while volunteer driver programs need additional volunteers.

If you work in workforce development, consider referring your clients to jobs in transit. For example, the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) collaborates with local and state human service agencies as part of its recruitment strategy, and over the years has hired drivers, call-takers, and facility staff through partner referrals. Like many transit authorities, MWRTA offers free CDL training to new staff hired as drivers, providing an industry-recognized, highly portable credential.

MassDOT offers free driver training to transportation providers in Massachusetts through the MArtap initiative in rural and small urban areas, and through the MAurbantap initiative in the Boston, Worcester, and Springfield metro areas. To clarify what training is available and how to sign up, MassDOT recently created a new webpage covering both programs. Check out the Massachusetts Transit Assistance Programs webpage to learn about how to get driver training for your drivers or how to apply to host a training.

In addition to driver training, rural and small urban transportation providers can also receive reimbursement for professional development expenses through the MArtap scholarship or apply for annual small grants through the annual Helping Hands Mini Grant program.

Registration is open for the spring 2022 semester Online Professional Certificate in Organizing and Managing Senior Transportation Options. Join Helen Kerschner, Director, Volunteer Transportation, Shepherd’s Centers of America and Nina Silverstein, Professor, Gerontology Department, UMass Boston in their ninth year of offering a professional certificate to people working in the fields of transportation and aging through the Gerontology Institute and the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at UMass Boston. This fully online course has both asynchronous modules and biweekly synchronous virtual classroom sessions on Tuesday nights. Learn more and register.

Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe here

You can read all past issues of the MassMobility newsletter in our archive