Lawrence Transit has initiated a pilot program to go fare free for all services in 2023, including fixed route, T Lift, Night Line, and future Sunday microtransit. This means anyone can use any of the Lawrence Transit services for free throughout all of 2023. The first day of free transit service will be Monday, January 2.

There are numerous benefits to Lawrence Transit riders from going fare free, including a positive impact on people in our community who have less income.

Eliminating bus fares can also inject money back into the local economy as riders can invest money they would have used on bus fare into their family, homes, food, retail and more.

Lawrence Transit ridership has not fully recovered from pandemic impacts, and it is a hope that the fare free pilot can help increase the amount of riders. Fare free programs in other communities have resulted in ridership increases of 20% to 60%.

If you have not used Lawrence Transit before but are interested in learning how, consider signing up for Travel Training. Participants will gain the necessary skills to travel independently through hands-on experience with one of our Lawrence Transit experts. If you or your organization are interested in learning more about the Travel Training program, please email Lawrence Transit at info@lawrencetransit.org.

The Lawrence Transit website, www.lawrencetransit.org, has more information and resources for using public transit. There are trip planning tools and links to apps that use real-time data to show when a bus will arrive at your stop.

The Fare Free Pilot Program is financially supported by increased federal transit funding. The program will be re-evaluated in Fall 2023 to determine the feasibility of extending the pilot.

For more information, visit www.lawrencetransit.org or call (785) 864-4644. Find Lawrence Transit on Facebook: @LawrenceTransit and on Twitter: @TransitLawrence.

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