Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Downtown
Every place (of any size) that free transit has been tried (remember Austin's grand experiment in the 80s?), the regular riders have begged to have fares reinstated, exactly because the buses became rolling homeless shelters and mental wards.
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This is exactly right. Public transit should be affordable, not free.
Cities don't need free transit for seniors, or the disabled, and they certainly don't need free transit for everyone. They need quick, clean, efficient trains to bring people from outlying neighborhoods of the city to their downtown jobs, shopping and entertainment. Public transportation is necessary to continue the gentrification and revitalization of Chicago in particular. They should be using any excess revenue to improve the quality of service, rather than make the same bad service cheaper.