HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3278 FILED ON: 2/19/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3526
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Adrian C. Madaro
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to low income transit fares.
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PETITION OF:
Name: | District/Address: | Date Added: |
Adrian C. Madaro | 1st Suffolk | 2/19/2021 |
Steven C. Owens | 29th Middlesex | 2/26/2021 |
Daniel J. Ryan | 2nd Suffolk | 2/26/2021 |
Jack Patrick Lewis | 7th Middlesex | 2/26/2021 |
Lindsay N. Sabadosa | 1st Hampshire | 2/26/2021 |
Sean Garballey | 23rd Middlesex | 2/26/2021 |
Tommy Vitolo | 15th Norfolk | 2/26/2021 |
Tram T. Nguyen | 18th Essex | 2/26/2021 |
James B. Eldridge | Middlesex and Worcester | 3/1/2021 |
Danillo A. Sena | 37th Middlesex | 3/16/2021 |
Elizabeth A. Malia | 11th Suffolk | 3/16/2021 |
Sonia Chang-Diaz | Second Suffolk | 4/2/2021 |
Kevin G. Honan | 17th Suffolk | 6/7/2021 |
Paul R. Feeney | Bristol and Norfolk | 6/9/2021 |
Erika Uyterhoeven | 27th Middlesex | 7/2/2021 |
Erika Uyterhoeven | 27th Middlesex | 7/2/2021 |
Marcos A. Devers | 16th Essex | 7/9/2021 |
Natalie M. Higgins | 4th Worcester | 7/26/2021 |
Michelle L. Ciccolo | 15th Middlesex | 7/26/2021 |
Steven Ultrino | 33rd Middlesex | 7/26/2021 |
Ruth B. Balser | 12th Middlesex | 7/27/2021 |
Jon Santiago | 9th Suffolk | 7/27/2021 |
Sal N. DiDomenico | Middlesex and Suffolk | 8/2/2021 |
Marjorie C. Decker | 25th Middlesex | 10/5/2021 |
Russell E. Holmes | 6th Suffolk | 10/26/2021 |
Nika C. Elugardo | 15th Suffolk | 1/7/2022 |
Tami L. Gouveia | 14th Middlesex | 1/14/2022 |
Peter Capano | 11th Essex | 1/25/2022 |
Lydia Edwards | First Suffolk and Middlesex | 1/28/2022 |
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3278 FILED ON: 2/19/2021
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3526
By Mr. Madaro of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3526) of Adrian C. Madaro and others that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority implement a low-income fare program to provide free or discounted transit fares for certain riders. Transportation. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
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An Act relative to low income transit fares.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, in coordination with the secretary of health and human services, shall implement a low-income fare program that provides free or discounted transit fares to qualifying riders on all modes of transportation operated by the authority.
(b) In developing the low-income fare program, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority shall develop a stakeholder engagement plan and implementation analysis. The engagement plan shall ensure engagement with relevant stakeholders and provide opportunities for public input in geographically-diverse service areas of the authority. The analysis shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of: (i) the number of riders anticipated to benefit from the program; (ii) the average reductions of each fare, by mode; (iii) the overall impact on revenue to the system; (iv) partnership models for determining eligibility requirements and the verification method; and (v) estimated costs associated with the administration and marketing of the program. The implementation analysis shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on transportation not later than October 15, 2022.
SECTION 2. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the regional transit authority council established in section 27 of chapter 161B of the General Laws, in coordination with the secretary of health and human services, may provide each regional transit authority with assistance to implement a low-income fare program that provides free or discounted transit fares to qualifying riders on all modes of transportation operated by each authority.
(b) In developing the low-income fare program, each regional transit authority shall develop a stakeholder engagement plan and an implementation analysis. The engagement plan shall ensure engagement with relevant stakeholders and provide opportunities for public input in geographically-diverse service areas of the authority. The analysis shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of: (i) the number of riders anticipated to benefit from the program; (ii) the average reduction of each fare, by mode; (iii) the overall impact on revenue to the system; (iv) partnership models for determining eligibility requirements and the verification method; (v) any estimated costs associated with the administration and marketing of the program; and (vi) consideration of a no-fare option if that would be cheaper to implement than a means-tested fare program.