For the second month in a row, the six lines of the D.C. Circulator bus service—which normally cost $1—will be free to ride.

Mayor Muriel Bowser made an out-of-the-blue announcement last month that the Circulator would be free as part of her “#FairShot February” campaign (she made the announcement on the same day that the government shutdown ended, around the same time that WMATA and other transit services were considering waiving fares for federal workers). Now, the mayor is extending the offer through March. 

“As we explore ways to make it easier for residents and visitors to move around D.C., Mayor Bowser decided to extend free Circulator to see if it draws more people to use it,” spokesperson Susana Castillo wrote in an emailed statement. Overall, the Circulator has seen declining ridership over the past five years, according to the city’s data dashboard (see below).

The mayor’s office did not respond to repeated questions about whether Bowser is considering waiving Circulator fares on a permanent basis.

Bowser extended the free rides earlier this week during a celebration of the third anniversary of the D.C. streetcar, which still hasn’t implemented a fare system for riders. DDOT officials now say that it will remain free at least through 2025. The same company that operates the streetcar won a contract last year to oversee the Circulator, too.

A spokesperson for the District Department of Transportation told DCist in January that funding to make the Circulator free would come from that agency, and that it hadn’t been planned for in the budget.

If ridership numbers hold steady from last year (February saw 327,000 rides and March saw 387,000 trips in 2018), the city will be losing more than $700,000 in fare revenue.

This story has been updated with 2018 ridership numbers for February and March.