Since taking office in 2021, Boston’s #28 bus has been a test bed for Mayor Michelle Wu’s climate-focused administration. In 2022, Mayor Wu announced that the bus line would have fare-free service as part of a pilot program funded by the city of Boston. The #28 bus will be fare free through 2026 and, if successful, the model may be applied to other bus lines throughout the city.
More recently, Mayor Wu announced another pilot program for the #28: green roofs atop bus shelters. Last week, Mayor Wu shared that 30 bus shelters along the line—which extends through Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury to downtown—will be capped with drought-resistant plantings. The initiative is part of the city of Boston’s Heat Plan, namely a component titled Cool Commutes.
The green roofs, Mayor Wu said, are meant to help provide shade, improve air quality, add new green space, and increase stormwater retention. The system was designed by Social Impact Collective, a Boston-based, minority-owned architecture and design firm. Weston Nurseries, a Massachusetts-based plant nursery; YouthBuild Boston; and JCDecaux, Boston’s street furniture contracting partner, are all on the development team.
“Having led the original pilot project back in 2014, we were delighted to work with the City again and bring back this valuable program,” Michael Chavez, founder of Social Impact Collective, shared in a statement. “These green roofs are a visible example of how implementing climate resilience at a neighborhood scale can improve outcomes while empowering the community through training and involvement in project implementation.”
Greening the #28 Bus
The #28 bus connects passengers in some of Boston’s most socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods to downtown via Blue Hill Avenue. It has the highest passenger volume in Boston because the neighborhoods it serves don’t have subway service.
Roxbury lost T access in 1987 when the Washington Street Elevated was decommissioned, and subsequently torn down. Now, Mattapan, parts of Dorchester, and Roxbury are what planners call transit deserts; passengers there that need to get downtown can either take the bus or wait for 20 minutes at select commuter rail stations.
For the Wu administration, fare-free passenger service, and now the green roof program, are steps forward in fighting climate change and serving diverse, underserved neighborhoods.
“These green roofs on bus shelters are not just a representation of Boston’s progress on sustainability—they are a practical, scalable solution to some of the most pressing challenges we face as a city,” Wu said in a statement. “With this new milestone from our Office of Climate Resilience, we are demonstrating that Boston is leading the way in innovative, community-focused climate action.”
Boston’s Green New Deal
Mayor Wu, since 2021, has surrounded herself with forward thinking proponents of the Green New Deal. In summer 2024, Wu announced a new position, Chief Climate Officer, whose main prerogative is helping Boston achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Brian Swett was appointed to Chief Climate Officer, an office helped along by the Office of Green Infrastructure, helmed by Kate England; and Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Green New Deal Director and Commissioner of the Environment Department.
“The launch of these green roofs is a tangible example of how we can reimagine our urban infrastructure to be more resilient, sustainable, and equitable,” Swett said. “This is also a terrific example of Boston’s approach to the Green New Deal—investing in neighborhoods and people to address our climate crisis.”
Looking ahead, Wu’s cabinet will build out its Green New Deal team thanks in part to a $9.8 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Construction on the 30 bus shelters will commence in the coming months.
