WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Regional Transit Authority advisory board voted to extend zero-fare service until the end of the year. 

The WRTA stopped collecting fares in March 2020 as a safety precaution during the pandemic. Public transit has been free ever since, but fare collections were set to start again in July.

The board agreed Thursday morning to extend the fare free model until January 1, 2022.

The WRTA received $37 million dollars in the first Cares Act stimulus, and nearly $6 million in the American Rescue Plan package.