Full and original article posted on MassLive
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.
In 2019, the WRTA’s fixed routes saw 2,925,030 unlinked passenger trips, or UPTs, a metric which refers to the number of passengers counted each time they board a public transportation vehicle, no matter how many vehicles they use. While that number dipped to 1,988,901 in 2020 due in large part to the pandemic, in 2022, it had risen to 3,582,608.
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