CT Transit Free Bus Fares Extended Until March 31st, 2023

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

From the New Haven Register

Free bus fare extended through March 31, but New Haven, Hartford leaders want it permanent

 

NEW HAVEN — Transit advocates are celebrating the General Assembly's overwhelming decision Monday to extend free bus fares in Connecticut through March 31,  but that, like the original bill that eliminated bus fares on CT Transit buses through Dec. 1, is a temporary measure. 
Some urban leaders want  more.

The New Haven Board of Alders went on record recently calling for elimination of the bus fares to be permanent.

The unanimous vote at the Alders' Nov. 21 meeting added the New Haven board's voice to that of the Hartford City Council, which previously went on record calling for bus fares to be eliminated permanently. 

"Eliminating fares has increased ridership and improved efficiency. This benefits everyone by lessening the number of cars on the road and reducing emissions," said East Rock Alder Anna Festa, D-10, chairwoman of the Board of Alders' City Service and Environmental Policy Committee, which put forward the measure and held a public hearing on it last month.

"It's very costly to take the bus and some of (the people who testified at the public hearing) were spending about $1,000 a year to take the bus," Festa said. Making elimination of bus fares permanent "will allow them to afford more things and probably help the economy, as well.

Wooster Square Alder Eli Sabin, D-7, who initiated the city legislation, said the state's initial free bus fare program "has led to a lot of benefits for our community" and "put money back in their pocketbooks

Referring to the $800 to $1,000 some residents said they spend a year to ride the bus, Sabin said, "We know that for folks who make minimum wage ... that's an awful lot." In addition, "the more folks take the bus, the less cars are on the road," he said. 

State Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said he would "certainly support at least starting the process" of contacting the federal government "to see if we could."

But "it's a very different process from what we went through," Looney said. "In fact, the federal rules only allow for a temporary rate change ... and I understand that the federal administrator is not happy with the fact" that Connecticut's suspension of the fares was in place as long as it has been, he said.

In addition, "There's a lot of pushback from regular bus riders who are complaining that the situation for them has become untenable," because of all the additional people riding the buses, including homeless people "essentially using the buses as mobile homeless shelters," Looney said.

Mayor Justin Elicker hailed passage of the free bus fare extension, which Gov. Ned Lamont signed Tuesday.

“Fare-free bus service has been very popular and a huge benefit to New Haven residents, and I applaud the state for extending it through April 1, 2023," Elicker said. "Nearly 30 percent of New Haveners do not have a car and public transit is an essential mode of transportation for so many residents who use it to commute to work and get around the city every day.

"The fare-free pilot program has provided residents significant savings, reduced vehicular traffic on our streets, and restored bus ridership to beyond even pre-pandemic levels," he said. "As someone who takes the bus to work on occasion, I can personally attest to how easy and convenient fare-free bus service has been. 

"I am hopeful that this can be made permanent in the upcoming legislative session and I applaud the New Haven delegation and Gov. Lamont for their commitment to increasing access to public transit for our residents,” Elicker said.

Free bus service costs the state about $2.7 million a month, while the gas tax holiday that the General Assembly also voted to extend through the end of the year costs the state about $20 million a month, with the figure reaching as high as $25 million in the summer, when people drive the most.

Both measures were included in one broad, four-part bill that also included "hero" payments of between $100 and $1,000 for nearly 156,000 Connecticut nurses, day care and grocery store workers, delivery personnel and other essential employees in the private sector.

The bill passed 134-7 in the House after more than four hours of debate and three failed Republican amendments. It was approved 33-0 by the state Senate shortly after 9 p.m., after an 80-minute debate.

Over 66,000 people who make less than $50,000 a year will get the maximum $1,000 benefits, while those with higher incomes will received drastically smaller amounts in the $105-million program, which had an October 1 application deadline.

The gas-tax holiday was extended through December, then gradually restores the tax by a nickel a month until the usual 25-cents-per-gallon tax is back in place next May 1, after a year-long holiday.

State Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, co-chairman of the legislative Finance Committee, told Hearst Connecticut Media that in all, motorists and bus riders will save $330 million over the year.

Neither Scanlon, House Transportation Committee Chairman Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, nor other area legislative leaders could immediately be reached for comment on the idea of making elimination of bus fares permanent.  

Edited November 30, 2022 by BM5 via Woodhaven