While we continue to wait for a conference report on the economic development bill (with Downtown Vitality funding, fingers crossed), the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute is hard at work preparing new research and organizing fall events and conversations.

Inadequate public transportation has long been a shared concern for Gateway City leaders across the state. Many of their residents are simply trapped on nights and weekends, when bus service is either extremely infrequent or entirely unavailable.

Free buses may be the bold idea Massachusetts needs to rebuild a culture of public transportation as we emerge from the pandemic in 2021.