The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority will start offering free bus travel to seniors on Tuesdays starting in July.
The two-year pilot program is called Senior Fare Free Tuesday and will be available on fixed bus routes.
Brandy Pelletier with the PVTA said the goals are to increase ridership and help seniors be more independent.
"With the increase in fares that we had, we heard a lot that seniors aren't able to get out as much, because they can't afford it," she said. "We also tried to incorporate it on the days that stores in the area have their senior discount, so that's why we chose to do it on Tuesday."
Offering free fares after facing a recent budget crunch may seem counterintuitive.
But Pelletier said the authority hopes the program will actually save it money because it will take some seniors off of paratransit bus service, which is far more costly to provide.
