The Worcester Regional Transit Authority is staying fare-free until June 2024. The WRTA advisory board voted unanimously this morning to keep rides free for passengers for another year. This move makes the WRTA the longest-running fare-free regional transit system in the nation.

Worcester Regional Transit Authority buses will continue to be free to ride through June 2024 after the agency’s advisory board voted to extend the program for another year on Thursday.

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester Regional Transit Authority ridership experienced an "exceptional" pandemic recovery compared to similar bus system in the state following the records lows of the first months of COVID-19, according to a new study.

WORCESTER - The Worcester Regional Transit Authority recovered quickly from ridership lows during the pandemic and is on track to meet its ridership peak in 2016, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau details in its latest report.

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority, which is expected to vote later this week to extend fare-free service for another year, is the only urban regional transit authority in Massachusetts that has not only met but exceeded pre-pandemic ridership levels on its fixed-route buses, according to a new report out Wednesday from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority is expected to vote Thursday on an extension of fare-free service that has been in place since the start of the pandemic.

WORCESTER - City Manager Eric Batista declared municipal broadband "impossible" on Thursday, April 13, during an interview on "Talk of the Commonwealth" with Hank Stolz.

Since 2020, the bus routes of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) have been free for anyone to ride, a policy that’s helped the agency attract new riders and reverse a long-term decline in ridership.

A project proposing a railroad line running from Boston to Pittsfield is seen by many in Western Mass. as a key step to advancing the region’s economy. But in Central Massachusetts, experts say, East-West Rail could be just as important.

WORCESTER - A Worcester Regional Transit Authority panel unanimously recommended that buses remain fare-free for the next year, with money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act making up for a lack of passenger revenue.