I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2287 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program 

to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2021 

Ms. PRESSLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a 

grant program to support efforts to provide fare-free 

transit service, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Move Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

6 The purposes of this Act are— 

7 (1) to invest in State, county, and local munici8 palities efforts to provide fare-free public transpor9 tation; and 


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1 (2) to support State, county, and local munici2 palities in improving and expanding access to safe, 

3 accessible, and reliable mass transit systems in order 

4 to improve the livability of communities. 

5 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Increasing access to safe, reliable, and af8 fordable public transit systems, including buses, 

9 light rail, and subways can help increase community 

10 livability and mobility to critical services such as 

11 education, jobs, and healthcare. 

12 (2) The cost of transit fares can act as a chal13 lenging economic barrier for low-income individuals 

14 and families who are most likely to rely on public 

15 transportation to access critical services and must 

16 spend larger parts of their household budget on 

17 transportation services. Removing economic barriers 

18 to safe, reliable, and affordable public transit, can 

19 help to increase social and economic mobility by in20 creasing access to education, training, and employ21 ment. 

22 (3) Individuals with disabilities are twice as 

23 likely as those without disabilities to have inadequate 

24 access to safe, affordable, and reliable transpor25 tation. Reports have found that of the nearly 2 milVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2287.IH H2287

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1 lion people with disabilities who are unable to leave 

2 their homes, nearly 30 percent is due to lack of ade3 quate transportation. 

4 (4) As the senior population continues to grow, 

5 an increasing number of elderly adults depend on 

6 public transit to access medical care and other vital 

7 services. Additionally, the percentage of 13 to 34- 

8 year-olds without a driver’s license continues to 

9 grow. Taken together, these trends show the unprec10 edented urgency of investing in and improving our 

11 public transit systems. 

12 (5) According to the Department of Transpor13 tation, transportation accounts for 29 percent of 

14 greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Pub15 lic transportation, however, produces significantly 

16 lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile 

17 than by private vehicles. Increasing public transit 

18 ridership and moving more people to and from crit19 ical services with fewer vehicles on the road can re20 duce greenhouse gas emissions. 

21 (6) Eliminating transit fares and significantly 

22 reducing economic barriers to public transit will help 

23 to reduce the need for fare evasion policies that dis24 proportionately criminalize low-income individuals 

25 and people of color. 


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1 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO SUPPORT FARE-FREE TRANSIT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 360 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award 

4 grants (which shall be known as ‘‘Freedom to Move 

5 Grants’’) to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to 

6 cover the lost fare revenue for fare-free public transpor7 tation and improve public transportation. 

8 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

9 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 

10 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

11 and containing such information as the Secretary may re12 quire, including, at a minimum, the following: 

13 (1) A description of how the eligible entity 

14 plans to implement fare free transit access. 

15 (2) A description of how the entity will work to 

16 expand and improve bus service, which may in17 clude— 

18 (A) a bus network redesign; 

19 (B) how such redesign will prioritize con20 sistent and reliable service for low-income and 

21 historically underserved communities; 

22 (C) how such redesign will prioritize 

23 connectivity to critical services and improve 

24 community livability; and 

25 (D) how the eligible entity will meaning26 fully consult with community, community leadVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2287.IH H2287

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1 ers, local stakeholders and advocates, including 

2 transit advocates and disability advocates, local 

3 education agencies and institutions of higher 

4 education, community developers, labor unions, 

5 public housing agencies and workforce develop6 ment boards, while facilitating such redesign. 

7 (3) A description of how the eligible entity will 

8 meaningfully partner and collaborate with commu9 nity, community leaders, local stakeholders and ad10 vocates, including transit advocates and disability 

11 advocates, local education agencies and institutions 

12 of higher education, community developers, labor 

13 unions, public housing agencies and workforce devel14 opment boards to support outreach efforts to in15 crease awareness of fare-free bus and transit pro16 grams. 

17 (4) A description of the eligible entity’s equity 

18 evaluation examining any transit and mobility gaps 

19 within the current transit system and how the eligi20 ble entity plans to significantly improve these gaps, 

21 including— 

22 (A) the average commute times for driver 

23 commuters and non-driver commuters; 

24 (B) public transit ridership rates disaggre25 gated by mode of transportation and demoVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2287.IH H2287

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1 graphic group (youth (including youth involved 

2 in the foster care system), seniors, individuals 

3 with disabilities, and low-income status); and 

4 (C) average length of bus routes and aver5 age delay times. 

6 (5) A description of the eligible entity’s current 

7 fare evasion enforcement policies, including— 

8 (A) the cost of the fine and whether the in9 fraction is considered a civil offense or a crimi10 nal offense punishable by imprisonment; 

11 (B) the number of individuals charged with 

12 violating a fare evasion policy, disaggregated by 

13 age, race, gender, and disability status; and 

14 (C) how the eligible entity plans to elimi15 nate fare evasion policies and end the criminal16 ization of individuals evading fares. 

17 (6) An estimate of additional costs as a result 

18 of increased ridership, including— 

19 (A) fuel; 

20 (B) personnel; 

21 (C) maintenance; and 

22 (D) other operational costs. 

23 (7) Information and statistics on assaults on 

24 transit employees and a description of trainings and 


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1 policies to protect employees, which may include de2 escalation training. 

3 (c) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this section 

4 shall be for a 5-year period. 

5 (d) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In car6 rying out the program under this section, the Secretary 

7 shall award grants to eligible entities located in both rural 

8 and urbanized areas. 

9 (e) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

10 a grant under this section shall use such grant to sup11 port— 

12 (1) implementing a fare-free transit program; 

13 and 

14 (2) efforts to improve public transportation, 

15 particularly in underserved communities, including 

16 costs associated with efforts to provide more safe, 

17 frequent, and reliable bus service, including— 

18 (A) bus stop safety and accessibility im19 provements; 

20 (B) pedestrian and bike shelters; 

21 (C) signage; 

22 (D) painted bus lanes; 

23 (E) signal priority systems; 

24 (F) street redesign; 


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1 (G) operational costs to meet demands of 

2 increased ridership, including hiring and train3 ing of personnel; and 

4 (H) conducting a bus network redesign. 

5 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the 

7 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

8 (A) a State, county, local municipality; 

9 (B) a transit agency; 

10 (C) a private nonprofit organization en11 gaged in public transportation in rural areas; or 

12 (D) a partnership between entities de13 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

14 (2) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

15 ‘‘underserved community’’ means— 

16 (A) a community not served by existing 

17 bus routes or infrequent service; and 

18 (B) a community located in an area within 

19 a census tract that is identified as— 

20 (i) a low-income community; and 

21 (ii) a community of color. 

22 (3) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS.—The term 

23 ‘‘low-income individuals’’ means an individual whose 

24 family income is at or below 150 percent of the pov25 erty line (as that term is defined in section 673(2) 


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1 of the Community Service Block Grant Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revision required by 

3 that section) for a family of the size involved. 

4 (4) FOSTER CARE YOUTH.—The term ‘‘foster 

5 care youth’’— 

6 (A) means children and youth whose care 

7 and placement are the responsibility of the 

8 State or Tribal agency that administers a State 

9 or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of 

10 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. 

11 and 670 et seq.), without regard to whether fos12 ter care maintenance payments are made under 

13 section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be14 half of such children and youth; and 

15 (B) includes individuals who were age 13 

16 or older when their care and placement were 

17 the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 

18 that administered a State or Tribal plan under 

19 part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.) 

21 and who are no longer under the care and re22 sponsibility of such a State or Tribal agency, 

23 without regard to any such individual’s subse24 quent adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 

25 other form of permanency outcome. 


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1 (5) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

2 ‘‘public transportation’’— 

3 (A) means regular, continuing shared-ride 

4 surface transportation services that are open to 

5 the general public or open to a segment of the 

6 general public defined by age, disability, or low 

7 income; and 

8 (B) does not include— 

9 (i) intercity passenger rail transpor10 tation provided by the entity described in 

11 chapter 243 of title 49, United States 

12 Code, (or a successor to such entity); 

13 (ii) intercity bus service; 

14 (iii) charter bus service; 

15 (iv) school bus service; 

16 (v) sightseeing service; 

17 (vi) courtesy shuttle service for pa18 trons of one or more specific establish19 ments; or 

20 (vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility 

21 shuttle services. 

22 (g) REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

24 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

25 out this section, the Secretary shall collect data from 


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1 eligible entities receiving a grant under this section 

2 on the progress of meeting the targets described in 

3 the application of such entity. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The report required 

5 under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 (A) collect data on demographics of com7 munities served under this Act, disaggregated 

8 and cross-tabulated by— 

9 (i) race 

10 (ii) ethnicity; 

11 (iii) sex; and 

12 (iv) household median income; and 

13 (B) progress towards significantly closing 

14 transit equity gaps as described in subsection 

15 (b)(4). 

16 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

18 $5,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

19 2026. 

Æ 


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