Alexandria, Virginia, makes municipal bus system fare free - The start of a trend?

[JManc]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

vagrants rarely pay fares anyway, they just hop the fare gates or refuse to pay on the bus.

That said, better policy would be to require all employers providing subsidized parking to provide subsidized transit passes for their employees. I believe that's what Cambridge, Mass. does.

Cambridge is not exactly a cross section of America with a sizable underclass and minimum wage jobs.

As far as gate jumpers and free loaders, yeah that happens but usually at a risk. I had my chops broken because transit cop in Chicago thought I jumped turnstile. Doing away with controls altogether would further encourage vagrancy.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by JManc

Cambridge is not exactly a cross section of America with a sizable underclass and minimum wage jobs.

As far as gate jumpers and free loaders, yeah that happens but usually at a risk. I had my chops broken because transit cop in Chicago thought I jumped turnstile. Doing away with controls altogether would further encourage vagrancy.

I don't really think (potential) vagrancy is the issue with transit in America. New York has a pretty high tolerance for vagrants on the subway, but people of all socioeconomic statuses use the system without a second thought. No one is really discouraged from using the subway because of the chance that they might encounter homeless people, as long as they feel safe. And, despite the very visible homeless population in the subway system, I think most people feel pretty safe using it.

Also, unless the city has an extensive train system like New York's, it is very impractical for vagrants to camp out on the transit system. I've never seen a homeless person sprawled out on a bus like I've commonly seen in NYC subway cars.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I don't really think (potential) vagrancy is the issue with transit in America. New York has a pretty high tolerance for vagrants on the subway, but people of all socioeconomic statuses use the system without a second thought. No one is really discouraged from using the subway because of the chance that they might encounter homeless people, as long as they feel safe. And, despite the very visible homeless population in the subway system, I think most people feel pretty safe using it.

Also, unless the city has an extensive train system like New York's, it is very impractical for vagrants to camp out on the transit system. I've never seen a homeless person sprawled out on a bus like I've commonly seen in NYC subway cars.

Yea, I dont see them on the buses really in LA either. There are some, but I think they prefer the trains like in NYC and Chicago as well. How could they camp out after a bus ride? Doesn't the bus driver kick everyone off at the end of the route?

[MonkeyRonin]

Free transit makes sense for low-ridership systems that are already heavily subsidized, as an incentive to attract new users. An even better incentive though would be to use that additional funding to improve service instead.

For high-ridership systems with high fare recover ratios meanwhile it should be a complete non-starter. What these systems need are not new riders but additional service to meet their existing demands.

Transit fares are also low enough that the cost of the fare is not really a barrier to prevent people from using it - especially when the primary alternative is an automobile (and those who are truly low-income & dependant on transit should usually quality for reduced passes).