> Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and US Rep. Ayanna Pressley have introduced a bill in Congress to establish a $25 billion grant program to support state and

> Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and US Rep. Ayanna Pressley have introduced a bill in Congress to establish a $25 billion grant program to support state and local efforts for fare-free systems. If I'm reading the link correctly, this is their 3rd try at this legislation. I don't think it will succeed. The Brightline extension to Orlando is about to start service. It will demonstrate that people are very willing to pay good money for useful transportation. Over in the Chicago metro area, weekend ridership on the suburban train system has recovered to a much greater extent than weekday ridership - a few of the lines have weekend ridership significantly higher than pre-pandemic! They've released a proposed fare structure for next year that increases fares, but simplifies the fare structure and for the first time introduces fares for travel that doesn't involve going all the way downtown. People aren't complaining, because it will be accompanied by additional service aimed at people that aren't commuting downtown for work! They also announced an extension of the system all the way out to Rockford IL, setting up a possible future expansion all the way to Madison WI... People will pay for transportation that is useful to them. What we need are for transit agencies to completely rethink their operations and to let go of the commuting-to-work-is-the-only-thing idea.