Boston City Council passes $8M fare-free bus expansion, swears in new member

BOSTON — December 1, 2021 — Boston City Council votes 12-1 to expand fare-free MBTA bus service using $8 million in federal relief funds. The December 1 meeting, presided over by outgoing council President Kim Janey, authorized an American Rescue Plan Act grant administered by the city's chief financial officer to eliminate fares on Routes 23, 28, and 29 through December 2024, serving Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury. Councilor Michael Flaherty, chair of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, called it an equity initiative to "connect folks to those valuable resources" widened by the pandemic; Councilor Frank Baker cast the lone no, warning the program could cost the city $12 million once federal funds expire with no identified replacement source. The council also unanimously adopted the FY2022 property tax classification order, which keeps the residential rate near $10 per $1,000 of assessed value by shifting the maximum allowable burden onto commercial properties, and forwarded nine Civilian Review Board nominees to Mayor Michelle Wu — who appeared in the chamber for the first time as mayor to swear in newly seated at-large Councilor Erin J. Murphy.