02-28-2020, 09:34 PM
A couple of big cities in the US have tried free transit over the decades: Austin did in the 1980s. They generally found the headaches from not being able to kick the mentally ill and homeless off outweighed any ridership gains. Free transit isn't uncommon in small college towns.
Kansas City recently decided to give it a try, though. Transit advocates like me think it would be much better to use the money to increase service instead. That's the only thing with a proven record of increasing ridership.
Kansas City recently decided to give it a try, though. Transit advocates like me think it would be much better to use the money to increase service instead. That's the only thing with a proven record of increasing ridership.