I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7389 
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 
JUNE 26, 2020 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Move Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to invest in State, county, and local munici-
palities efforts to provide fare-free public transpor-
tation; and 
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(2) to support State, county, and local munici-
palities in improving and expanding access to safe, 
accessible, and reliable mass transit systems in order 
to improve the livability of communities. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Increasing access to safe, reliable, and af-
fordable public transit systems, including buses, 
light rail, and subways can help increase community 
livability and mobility to critical services such as 
education, jobs, and healthcare. 
(2) The cost of transit fares can act as a chal-
lenging economic barrier for low-income individuals 
and families who are most likely to rely on public 
transportation to access critical services and must 
spend larger parts of their household budget on 
transportation services. Removing economic barriers 
to safe, reliable, and affordable public transit, can 
help to increase social and economic mobility by in-
creasing access to education, training, and employ-
ment. 
(3) Individuals with disabilities are twice as 
likely as those without disabilities to have inadequate 
access to safe, affordable, and reliable transpor-
tation. Reports have found that of the nearly 2 mil-
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lion people with disabilities who are unable to leave 
their homes, nearly 30 percent is due to lack of ade-
quate transportation. 
(4) As the senior population continues to grow, 
an increasing number of elderly adults depend on 
public transit to access medical care and other vital 
services. Additionally, the percentage of 13 to 34- 
year-olds without a driver’s license continues to 
grow. Taken together, these trends show the unprec-
edented urgency of investing in and improving our 
public transit systems. 
(5) According to the Department of Transpor-
tation, transportation accounts for 29 percent of 
greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Pub-
lic transportation, however, produces significantly 
lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile 
than by private vehicles. Increasing public transit 
ridership and moving more people to and from crit-
ical services with fewer vehicles on the road can re-
duce greenhouse gas emissions. 
(6) Eliminating transit fares and significantly 
reducing economic barriers to public transit will help 
to reduce the need for fare evasion policies that dis-
proportionately criminalize low-income individuals 
and people of color. 
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SEC. 4. GRANTS TO SUPPORT FARE-FREE TRANSIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 360 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award 
grants (which shall be known as ‘‘Freedom to Move 
Grants’’) to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to 
cover the lost fare revenue for fare-free public transpor-
tation and improve public transportation. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may re-
quire, including, at a minimum, the following: 
(1) A description of how the eligible entity 
plans to implement fare free transit access. 
(2) A description of how the entity will work to 
expand and improve bus service, which may in-
clude— 
(A) a bus network redesign; 
(B) how such redesign will prioritize con-
sistent and reliable service for low-income and 
historically underserved communities; 
(C) how such redesign will prioritize con-
nectivity to critical services and improve com-
munity livability; and 
(D) how the eligible entity will meaning-
fully consult with community, community lead-
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ers, local stakeholders and advocates, including 
transit advocates and disability advocates, local 
education agencies and institutions of higher 
education, community developers, labor unions, 
public housing agencies and workforce develop-
ment boards, while facilitating such redesign. 
(3) A description of how the eligible entity will 
meaningfully partner and collaborate with commu-
nity, community leaders, local stakeholders and ad-
vocates, including transit advocates and disability 
advocates, local education agencies and institutions 
of higher education, community developers, labor 
unions, public housing agencies and workforce devel-
opment boards to support outreach efforts to in-
crease awareness of fare-free bus and transit pro-
grams. 
(4) A description of the eligible entity’s equity 
evaluation examining any transit and mobility gaps 
within the current transit system and how the eligi-
ble entity plans to significantly improve these gaps, 
including— 
(A) the average commute times for driver 
commuters and non-driver commuters; 
(B) public transit ridership rates disaggre-
gated by mode of transportation and demo-
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graphic group (youth (including youth involved 
in the foster care system), seniors, individuals 
with disabilities, and low-income status); and 
(C) average length of bus routes and aver-
age delay times. 
(5) A description of the eligible entity’s current 
fare evasion enforcement policies, including— 
(A) the cost of the fine and whether the in-
fraction is considered a civil offense or a crimi-
nal offense punishable by imprisonment; 
(B) the number of individuals charged with 
violating a fare evasion policy, disaggregated by 
age, race, gender, and disability status; and 
(C) how the eligible entity plans to elimi-
nate fare evasion policies and end the criminal-
ization of individuals evading fares. 
(6) An estimate of additional costs as a result 
of increased ridership, including— 
(A) fuel; 
(B) personnel; 
(C) maintenance; and 
(D) other operational costs. 
(7) Information and statistics on assaults on 
transit employees and a description of trainings and 
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policies to protect employees, which may include de- 
escalation training. 
(c) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this section 
shall be for a 5-year period. 
(d) SELECTION
OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In car-
rying out the program under this section, the Secretary 
shall award grants to eligible entities located in both rural 
and urbanized areas. 
(e) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this section shall use such grant to sup-
port— 
(1) implementing a fare-free transit program; 
and 
(2) efforts to improve public transportation, 
particularly in underserved communities, including 
costs associated with efforts to provide more safe, 
frequent, and reliable bus service, including— 
(A) bus stop safety and accessibility im-
provements; 
(B) pedestrian and bike shelters; 
(C) signage; 
(D) painted bus lanes; 
(E) signal priority systems; 
(F) street redesign; 
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(G) operational costs to meet demands of 
increased ridership, including hiring and train-
ing of personnel; and 
(H) conducting a bus network redesign. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 
(A) a State, county, local municipality; 
(B) a transit agency; 
(C) a private nonprofit organization en-
gaged in public transportation in rural areas; or 
(D) a partnership between entities de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 
(2) UNDERSERVED
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘‘underserved community’’ means— 
(A) a community not served by existing 
bus routes or infrequent service; and 
(B) a community located in an area within 
a census tract that is identified as— 
(i) a low-income community; and 
(ii) a community of color. 
(3) 
LOW-INCOME
INDIVIDUALS.—The 
term 
‘‘low-income individuals’’ means an individual whose 
family income is at or below 150 percent of the pov-
erty line (as that term is defined in section 673(2) 
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of the Community Service Block Grant Act (42 
U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revision required by 
that section) for a family of the size involved. 
(4) FOSTER CARE YOUTH.—The term ‘‘foster 
care youth’’— 
(A) means children and youth whose care 
and placement are the responsibility of the 
State or Tribal agency that administers a State 
or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. 
and 670 et seq.), without regard to whether fos-
ter care maintenance payments are made under 
section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be-
half of such children and youth; and 
(B) includes individuals who were age 13 
or older when their care and placement were 
the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 
that administered a State or Tribal plan under 
part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.) 
and who are no longer under the care and re-
sponsibility of such a State or Tribal agency, 
without regard to any such individual’s subse-
quent adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 
other form of permanency outcome. 
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(5) 
PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION.—The 
term 
‘‘public transportation’’— 
(A) means regular, continuing shared-ride 
surface transportation services that are open to 
the general public or open to a segment of the 
general public defined by age, disability, or low 
income; and 
(B) does not include— 
(i) intercity passenger rail transpor-
tation provided by the entity described in 
chapter 243 of title 49, United States 
Code, (or a successor to such entity); 
(ii) intercity bus service; 
(iii) charter bus service; 
(iv) school bus service; 
(v) sightseeing service; 
(vi) courtesy shuttle service for pa-
trons of one or more specific establish-
ments; or 
(vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility 
shuttle services. 
(g) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date on which funds are made available to carry 
out this section, the Secretary shall collect data from 
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eligible entities receiving a grant under this section 
on the progress of meeting the targets described in 
the application of such entity. 
(2) 
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
report 
required 
under paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) collect data on demographics of com-
munities served under this Act, disaggregated 
and cross-tabulated by— 
(i) race 
(ii) ethnicity; 
(iii) sex; and 
(iv) household median income; and 
(B) progress towards significantly closing 
transit equity gaps as described in subsection 
(b)(4). 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$5,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 
2025. 
Æ 
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