Freedom
to Move Act will help make fare-free transit a reality, improve safety and
quality of transportation, and address transit equity gaps
Boston
(March 30, 2021) – Today, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)
and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) reintroduced the
Freedom to Move Act, bold legislation to support state and local efforts to
establish public transportation as a public good through fare-free services.
The
lawmakers’ bill introduction comes as transit agencies across the country, including
the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), have considered cuts to
transit service—despite receiving over $1 billion in federal relief over the
past year. Earlier this month, Senator Markey and Congresswoman Pressley joined
their colleagues in the Massachusetts congressional delegation in
writing
to MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak expressing concerns regarding the
MBTA’s previously proposed service cuts.
“Affordability and accessibility must define our public transit
systems to ensure that they truly promote equity, economic growth, and
community development,” said Senator Markey. “By supporting state
and local efforts to implement fare-free public transit, we can provide
low-income workers, families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities with
improved access to jobs, education, medical care, and other critical services –
all
while simultaneously reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
I’m proud to reintroduce the Freedom to Move Act with Congresswoman
Pressley and I look forward to fighting together
for a just transit future.”
“Public transportation is an essential public good, but for too
long, we have not funded it like one. Far too many in the Massachusetts 7th and
across the country lack reliable, safe, and affordable transit service,” said
Congresswoman Pressley. “As our nation begins to turn a corner toward our
ongoing recovery from this public health and economic crisis, it is critical
that we center the connectivity of all communities. The Freedom to Move Act
invests heavily in our public transit systems so that states and localities can
offer safe, high-quality, and fare-free rides to all to ensure everyone in the
community can access jobs, food and essential services.”
"Now more than ever, Boston needs a transit system that works
for everyone,” said Boston Mayor Kim Janey. “The people who stock
our groceries, clean our schools, and staff our hospitals rely on buses and
trains to get to work. We count on essential workers to get us through this
pandemic, and essential workers count on public transportation. Thank you to
our entire congressional delegation for your support in advocating for making
public transportation more accessible for more working Bostonians."
“I am so grateful for the leadership of Representative Pressley,
Senator Markey and this broad community coalition for keeping up the momentum
toward transit justice,” said Boston City Councilor At-Large Michelle
Wu. “Public transit is a public good—just like schools, parks, and
libraries, everyone benefits when we eliminate barriers to access. We must keep
fighting to ensure every Boston family and community has fare-free access to
safe, reliable and convenient transit. Breaking down barriers for every
Bostonian to move freely will contribute to cleaner air, safer streets, faster
commutes and a more racially and economically equitable city.”
A copy of the legislation can be found
HERE.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, workers and families were spending
more time and money commuting to jobs, education and other critical services
than ever before. Data shows that low-income families in particular bear the
biggest financial burden--spending
nearly 30 percent of their household
income on transportation expenses. At the same time, increased traffic
congestion is contributing to growing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution,
exacerbating climate change and contributing to health disparities like asthma
and lung cancer in communities already at the margins.
Increasing access to free, safe, reliable and accessible public
transit systems will help improve community livability and mobility, increase
connectivity to critical services—particularly for low-income workers and
families, seniors and individuals with disabilities—and address many of our
nation’s most severe inequities.
The Freedom to Move Act would help to support state and
local efforts to promote public transportation as a public good for all
by:
- Supporting state and local efforts to implement fare-free
public transportation systems. The bill establishes a $5 billion
competitive grant program, known as Freedom to Move Grants to offset fare revenues
for transit agencies.
- Investing in efforts to improve the
safety and quality of public transportation service, particularly in low-income
and historically underserved communities, including by:
o Covering
operational costs, including the hiring and training of personnel, fuel costs,
and maintenance.
o Investing
in public health emergency response efforts, including personal protective
equipment and administrative leave for operational personnel.
o Improving
the safety and accessibility of bus stops, pedestrian and bike shelters.
o Redesigning
bus routes to improve service, modernizing and improving the accessibility of
signage; and
o Modernizing
surface infrastructure such as painted bus lanes and signal priority systems to
alleviate traffic congestion and improve multi-modal accessibility.
- Requiring grantees to utilize funds with
a particular focus on addressing transit equity gaps. Grantees
would be required to work in partnership with community advocates and
stakeholders to report on how resources will be used to improve the reliability
of transit service for low-income and historically underserved communities.
The Freedom to Move Act is endorsed by the Sunrise Movement, 350
MASS, A Better Cambridge, Action 4 Equity, Allston Brighton Health Collaborative,
Alternatives for Community and Environment, Bikes Not Bombs, Boston Cyclist
Union, Community Labor United, Green Newton, GreenRoots, The Health Foundation
of Central Massachusetts, Inc, Institute for Transportation and Development
Policy, LivableStreets Alliance, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, MASSPIRG,
Massachusetts Sierra Club, Massachusetts Senior Action Council, Mattapan Food
and Fitness Coalition, Riders Action Council, Transit Matters, WalkBoston.
“The Sunrise Movement knows that investments in fare-free and
quality transit are investments in young people, working people, people of
color, and a stride towards equity,” said Ellen Sciales, Press
Secretary of the Sunrise Movement. “We are proud to stand with Senator
Markey
and Congresswoman Pressley in their reintroduction of the Freedom to Move Act,
as it creates jobs in the national interest, strengthens our communities, and
is a clear and consequential step towards our
vision of a Green New Deal.”
"As a grassroots organization focused on public health,
MFFC sees the extreme value of the Freedom to Move Act and how it can greatly
improve the wellbeing of residents who live in low income areas,” said
Shavel'le Olivier, Executive Director, Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition.
“With this act in place, residents would be able to focus on their other basic
needs to live such as food, water, shelter, and clothing. They would not need
to worry about adding transportation to already growing lists of expenses that
sometimes takes up 1/3 or more of a weekly paycheck, paying a fare to get
to their doctors appointment or grocery store, as well as safely getting to a
comfortable bus stop."
"Public transit is oftentimes the lifeline for many of our
residents, especially those who live in Environmental Justice
communities,” said María Belén Power, Associate Executive Director,
GreenRoots, Inc. “Many of our folks, the essential workers, have put
their lives on the line during this pandemic, risking their lives and their
families' by continuing to go to work and keep the economy afloat. We have a
moral obligation to treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve. We
need robust investment into our public transit agencies for operational and
capital improvements, so every single rider has access to reliable, affordable
and safe public transit service. We applaud Congresswoman Pressley and Senator
Markey for being leaders in the fight for transit justice!”
“Even as COVID-19 has reshaped our daily lives, bus and train
service remains essential to the riders who make hundreds of thousands of trips
a day, especially to the frontline workers who have kept our communities
running during the pandemic,” said Public Transit Public Good.
“This Act will ensure that we directly address the needs of our communities. It
will strengthen our public transit system by investing in it, and making it
safe, affordable and accessible. We thank Congresswoman Pressley and Senator
Markey for taking this historic and bold step toward keeping our communities
moving.”
Following the bill’s initial introduction, the lawmakers
published an op-ed in MassLive in which
they discussed the bill and the need to fund public transportation as a public
good.
