II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1282 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

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 the efforts of States, counties, 

8 and local municipalities to provide fare-free public 

9 transportation; and 


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1 (2) to support States, counties, and local mu2 nicipalities in improving and expanding access to 

3 safe, accessible, and reliable mass transit systems in 

4 order to improve the livability of communities. 

5 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT FARE-FREE TRANSIT. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the 

8 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

9 (A) a State, a political subdivision of a 

10 State, or an Indian Tribe; 

11 (B) a transit agency; 

12 (C) a private nonprofit organization en13 gaged in public transportation in a rural area; 

14 or 

15 (D) a partnership between 2 or more enti16 ties described in subparagraphs (A) through 

17 (C). 

18 (2) FOSTER CARE YOUTH.—The term ‘‘foster 

19 care youth’’— 

20 (A) means children and youth whose care 

21 and placement are the responsibility of the 

22 State or Tribal agency that administers a State 

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

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

25 670 et seq.), without regard to whether foster 


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1 care maintenance payments are made under 

2 section 472 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be3 half of such children and youth; and 

4 (B) includes individuals who were age 13 

5 or older when their care and placement were 

6 the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 

7 that administered a State or Tribal plan under 

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

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

10 who are no longer under the care and responsi11 bility of such a State or Tribal agency, without 

12 regard to any such individual’s subsequent 

13 adoption, guardianship arrangement, or other 

14 form of permanency outcome. 

15 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

16 means an Indian tribe, as that term is used in chap17 ter 53 of title 49, United States Code. 

18 (4) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low19 income individual’’ means an individual whose family 

20 income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line 

21 (as that term is defined in section 673(2) of the 

22 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 9902(2)), including any revision required by that 

24 section) for a family of the size involved. 


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1 (5) MASS TRANSIT; PUBLIC TRANSIT; TRAN2 SIT.—The terms ‘‘mass transit’’, ‘‘public transit’’, 

3 and ‘‘transit’’ mean public transportation. 

4 (6) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

5 ‘‘public transportation’’— 

6 (A) means regular, continuing shared-ride 

7 surface transportation services that are open to 

8 the general public or open to a segment of the 

9 general public defined by age, disability, or low 

10 income; and 

11 (B) does not include— 

12 (i) intercity passenger rail transpor13 tation provided by the entity described in 

14 chapter 243 of title 49, United States 

15 Code (or a successor to that entity); 

16 (ii) intercity bus service; 

17 (iii) charter bus service; 

18 (iv) school bus service; 

19 (v) sightseeing service; 

20 (vi) courtesy shuttle service for pa21 trons of 1 or more specific establishments; 

22 or 

23 (vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility 

24 shuttle services. 


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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Transportation. 

3 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean4 ing given the term in section 5302 of title 49, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (9) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

7 ‘‘underserved community’’ means— 

8 (A) a community that— 

9 (i) is not served by any existing bus 

10 route; or 

11 (ii) receives infrequent bus service; 

12 and 

13 (B) a community located in an area within 

14 a census tract that is identified as— 

15 (i) a low-income community; and 

16 (ii) a community of color. 

17 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 360 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

19 award grants (which shall be known as ‘‘Freedom to Move 

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

21 cover the lost fare revenue for fare-free public transpor22 tation and improve public transportation. 

23 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

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

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


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1 and containing such information as the Secretary may re2 quire, including, at a minimum, the following: 

3 (1) A description of how the eligible entity 

4 plans to implement fare-free transit access. 

5 (2) A description of how the eligible entity will 

6 work to expand and improve bus service, which may 

7 include— 

8 (A) a bus network redesign; 

9 (B) how the bus network redesign will 

10 prioritize consistent and reliable service for low11 income and underserved communities; 

12 (C) how the bus network redesign will 

13 prioritize connectivity to critical services and 

14 improve community livability; and 

15 (D) how the eligible entity will meaning16 fully consult with members of the community, 

17 community leaders, local stakeholders and advo18 cates (including transit advocates and disability 

19 advocates), local education agencies and institu20 tions of higher education, community devel21 opers, labor unions, public housing agencies, 

22 and workforce development boards, while facili23 tating the bus network redesign. 

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

25 meaningfully partner and collaborate with members 


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1 of the community, community leaders, local stake2 holders and advocates (including transit advocates 

3 and disability advocates), local education agencies 

4 and institutions of higher education, community de5 velopers, labor unions, public housing agencies and 

6 workforce development boards to support outreach 

7 efforts to increase awareness of fare-free transit pro8 grams, including fare-free bus programs. 

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

10 evaluation examining any equity and mobility gaps 

11 within each transit system operated by the eligible 

12 entity or within the geographic area under the juris13 diction of the eligible entity, and how the eligible en14 tity plans to significantly close those gaps, includ15 ing— 

16 (A) the average commute time for driver 

17 commuters and non-driver commuters; 

18 (B) public transit ridership rates 

19 disaggregated by— 

20 (i) mode of transportation; and 

21 (ii) demographic group, including 

22 youth (including foster care youth), sen23 iors, individuals with disabilities, and low24 income individuals; and 


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1 (C) average length of bus routes and aver2 age delay times. 

3 (5) A description of the eligible entity’s fare 

4 evasion enforcement policies, including— 

5 (A) the cost of the fine, if any, and wheth6 er the infraction is considered a civil offense or 

7 a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment; 

8 (B) the number of individuals charged with 

9 violating a fare evasion policy, disaggregated by 

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

11 (C) how the eligible entity plans to elimi12 nate fare evasion policies and end the criminal13 ization of individuals evading fares. 

14 (6) An estimate of additional costs that the eli15 gible entity will incur as a result of increased rider16 ship, including— 

17 (A) fuel costs; 

18 (B) personnel costs; 

19 (C) maintenance costs; and 

20 (D) other operational costs. 

21 (7) Information and statistics on assaults on 

22 transit employees and a description of each training 

23 or policy used or intended to be used to protect em24 ployees, which may include de-escalation training. 


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1 (d) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this section 

2 shall be for a 5-year period. 

3 (e) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In carrying 

4 out the grant program under this section, the Secretary 

5 shall award grants to eligible entities located in both rural 

6 and urbanized areas. 

7 (f) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

8 a grant under this section shall use the grant to support— 

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

10 and 

11 (2) efforts to improve public transportation, 

12 particularly in underserved communities, including 

13 costs associated with efforts to provide more safe, 

14 frequent, and reliable bus service, including— 

15 (A) bus stop safety and accessibility im16 provements; 

17 (B) pedestrian and bike shelters; 

18 (C) signage; 

19 (D) painted bus lanes; 

20 (E) signal priority systems; 

21 (F) street redesign; 

22 (G) operational costs to meet demands of 

23 increased ridership, including hiring and train24 ing of personnel; and 

25 (H) conducting a bus network redesign. 


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1 (g) REPORT.— 

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

3 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

4 out this section, the Secretary shall— 

5 (A) collect data from each eligible entity 

6 receiving a grant under this section on the 

7 progress of the entity in meeting the targets de8 scribed in the application of the entity; and 

9 (B) publish and submit to Congress a re10 port containing the data collected under sub11 paragraph (A). 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The report required 

13 under paragraph (1) shall— 

14 (A) include data on demographics of com15 munities served under this section, 

16 disaggregated and cross-tabulated by— 

17 (i) race; 

18 (ii) ethnicity; 

19 (iii) sex; and 

20 (iv) household median income; and 

21 (B) assess the progress of eligible entities 

22 towards significantly closing transit equity and 

23 mobility gaps as described in subsection (c)(4). 

24 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $5,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

2 2028. 

Æ 


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