Ten weeks of free summer passes for youth ages 9 to 24 in the city of Worcester,

Massachusetts.
By Agustin Rac | June 30, 2019

The City of Worcester Division of Youth Opportunities (DYO) and the Worcester Regional
Transit Authority (WRTA) have begun their third summer facilitating transportation for youth in
the City of Worcester, Massachusetts.

In 2017, both the DYO and WRTA launched a summer youth transit program known as the “The
W”, allowing youth of ages 9 to 24 to have access to ten weeks of unlimited rides.

The summer youth transit program emerged from Madelyn Jacobsen’s research that took place
in 2016. She was an intern from Clark University, who came to us looking for support on her
research,” said Raquel Castro-Corazzini, the Division of Youth Opportunities Director. “Since
then, addressing transportation barriers in the City of Worcester, became part of our mission.
And working together with the WRTA we were able to develop the summer youth free fare
program that was launched in the summer of 2017.”

Every summer the DYO receives a total supply of one thousand passes for distribution. Thus,
according to last year’s report, “528 applications were received online via Google forms

application. The online form provides valuable data, including participants’ backgrounds,
previous experiences with WRTA systems, and their transportation barriers.”

“Collecting data from our youth, really helps us to closely uncover and address limitations in
regards to transportation,” said Raquel Castro-Corazzini.

The data collected by the DYO last year shows that a majority of the youth in Worcester rely on
public transportation. Because of the summer youth transit program, 14% of the youth who had
never used public transportation before were granted the opportunity to experience it for the first
time. By lowering transit fares, the DYO will help make public transportation more accessible,
which will ultimately lead to an increase in transit utilization.

The 2019 summer youth transit program is currently open. Thus, the DYO is working towards its
goal of distributing the one thousand passes that are on hand. Its objective is to encourage
communities to take advantage of the program so it can continue to improve and receive future
funding, which will be used to ensure that more members of the youth population will have
convenient access to Worcester’s transit systems.

“The WRTA is funding the whole program, and we are in charge of the outreach and the
distribution of the passes,” Said Raquel Castro-Corazzini.

According to The Research Bureau, “The Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA), like
many bus systems, suffers from low and declining ridership. There is research and evidence from
other cities that going fare-free – not merely lowering fares, but eliminating them entirely – is
perhaps the most effective ridership-boosting tool available to bus systems.” Therefore, the youth
transit program is a potential stepping stone into a future where Worcester’s existing,
underutilized transit resources will be put to good use once more.

If you are between the ages of 9 to 24 get your free summer pass, click the link below and
sign up.
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLScpxymxU7d7mnCM-…/viewform…

Looking for a Board Member:

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority | WRTA is looking for an individual, who is a
resident of a surrounding town (Not a Worcester resident), to join their Advisory Board
and represent the interests of commuters with disabilities.
The requirements are that the person is mobility impaired, have a family member who is
mobility impaired, be a caretaker of a person who is mobility impaired or works for an
organization that serves the needs of the physically disabled.
Here is a link to the WRTA Advisory Board: https://www.therta.com/wrta-advisory-
board/
Please contact jbellil@eastersealsma.org if you have any questions or interest.

Do you have something that you would like to see in our next newsletter, please contact Agustin Rac
racixpec@bc.edu
Thank you!