Fare Free Wave Buses Here To Stay After State Codifies Program

Massachusetts' fiscal year 2026 budget codifies fare-free regional transit, extending an initiative that makes fixed-route buses operated by regional transit authorities outside of Boston, including the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority (NRTA), free to ride. NRTA ridership has soared since its fare-free policy was first adopted, with rides provided jumping about 51 percent from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025.

“I am happy that we will continue fare-free for another year and pleased that the Governor's office and MassDOT continues to fund this successful program,” Nantucket Regional Transit Authority (NRTA) administrator Gary Roberts wrote in an email to the Current. “The program has been a benefit for tourist[s] and the year-round population with some of the highest percentage gains in ridership during the off season.”

Roberts said that NRTA provided 282,000 rides in fiscal year 2024 and over 425,000 rides in fiscal year 2025. He also noted that ridership is still increasing.

“We continue to see increases a year into the program with steady growth in ridership on a monthly basis,” Roberts wrote. “With the continued increases we have had to add additional vehicles to help with the needed capacity. NRTA continues to upgrade the fleet of buses with eight Battery Electric Buses now in service and five new Battery Electric Vans that will start service in the fall. NRTA leased five smaller buses this summer as work progresses on the procurement of larger buses in the future.”

The surge in NRTA ridership, which is not concentrated solely in the summer months, comes even as Nantucket residents list traffic as one of their top concerns, perhaps suggesting one solution to the seemingly intractable problem.

Previously, the state’s fare-free ridership program allowed regional transit authorities to opt out. But now, outside of the Boston area, participation is mandatory, which means budget amounts have to be adjusted to account for the authorities joining the program for the first time.