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Surprised no one has mentioned Kansas City’s free transit on streetcars and busses. I think it’s the largest city with entirely no-fare transit. At some point

by Digory 6y ago

Surprised no one has mentioned Kansas City’s free transit on streetcars and busses. I think it’s the largest city with entirely no-fare transit. At some point, free Uber /Lyft would be a better deal. But transportation-as-a-basic-service seems to be catching on. [0] https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/12/17/21026425/kansas-city-free-bus-system https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/12/17/21026425/kansas-cit...

clairity 6y ago
los angeles is talking about making transit free[0] at the same time we just got apple transit pass support for iphone and apple watch[1]. while a lot of the pushback is from fearmongerers lashing out at the homeless on transit (which is a problem, but wider than transit, since mayor garcetti has been wholly ineffective for 7+ years at getting the homeless off the streets), i find that an ugly distraction from the real issue of "free" being too easily conflated with "worthless". we all need skin in the game in the form of paying for our services to feel their worth and make better transit decisions. there's an argument to be made that a certain portion of transit benefits everyone, so everyone, in the form of taxes, should pay that portion (and only that portion). and sure, subsidize the disadvantaged for equal opportunities' sake, but don't make it free for everyone. [0]: https://thesource.metro.net/2020/08/27/metro-to-study-and-consider-eliminating-bus-and-rail-fares/ https://thesource.metro.net/2020/08/27/metro-to-study-and-co... [1]: https://thesource.metro.net/2020/09/03/tap-is-now-on-iphone-and-apple-watch/ https://thesource.metro.net/2020/09/03/tap-is-now-on-iphone-...
mumblerino 6y ago
As far as I know there’s also Luxembourg: https://www.afar.com/magazine/luxembourg-launches-worlds-first-free-public-transit-network https://www.afar.com/magazine/luxembourg-launches-worlds-fir...

by Digory 6y ago

clairity 6y ago

los angeles is talking about making transit free[0] at the same time we just got apple transit pass support for iphone and apple watch[1]. while a lot of the pushback is from fearmongerers lashing out at the homeless on transit (which is a problem, but wider than transit, since mayor garcetti has been wholly ineffective for 7+ years at getting the homeless off the streets), i find that an ugly distraction from the real issue of "free" being too easily conflated with "worthless". we all need skin in the game in the form of paying for our services to feel their worth and make better transit decisions. there's an argument to be made that a certain portion of transit benefits everyone, so everyone, in the form of taxes, should pay that portion (and only that portion). and sure, subsidize the disadvantaged for equal opportunities' sake, but don't make it free for everyone. [0]: https://thesource.metro.net/2020/08/27/metro-to-study-and-consider-eliminating-bus-and-rail-fares/ https://thesource.metro.net/2020/08/27/metro-to-study-and-co... [1]: https://thesource.metro.net/2020/09/03/tap-is-now-on-iphone-and-apple-watch/ https://thesource.metro.net/2020/09/03/tap-is-now-on-iphone-...

mumblerino 6y ago

As far as I know there’s also Luxembourg: https://www.afar.com/magazine/luxembourg-launches-worlds-first-free-public-transit-network https://www.afar.com/magazine/luxembourg-launches-worlds-fir...