HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—Governor Ned Lamont is directing CTtransit to provide free weekend bus service statewide this summer in an effort to help the state recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Memorial Day through Labor Day, CTtransit will provide free bus service to all customers every weekend to encourage people to visit locally-owned, small businesses in Connecticut and to help support the economy in communities that have been most heavily impacted by the pandemic, according to Lamont.
"To help support our economic recovery from the pandemic," Lamont said, "I want to make Connecticut's many attractions and businesses reachable by as many of our residents as possible, and implementing free weekend bus service this summer–the busiest time of tourism season–will help facilitate that."
The State Department of Transportation will be using up to $3 million of federal CARES Act funding to pay for the service, including accommodating for social distancing, officials said.
The department also plans to work with transit districts outside of the CTtransit system to help them partake in the free weekend program, officials said.
"Our ability to attract weekend riders through a free weekend-ride program gives our state and our residents an additional boost towards returning to normal," State Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti said in a statement.
The free service includes Saturdays and Sundays as well as Memorial Day on Monday, May 31, the observed Independence Day holiday on Monday, July 5 and Labor Day on Monday, September 6.