Hotspur🏳️🌈🇺🇦Washington DC voted to make its bus system fare-free, starting July 1. This is big...the first major US city to make their bus service completely free, and hopefully will serve as an example to other bus services around the nation. This makes the busses available not only to the middle class but also to the very poor who can't afford transit...in other words, greater equity. (EDIT: I found out Kansas City has been free for 2 years. My apologies to them.) #transit #bus #PublicTransit
LadyOzma@Vagrarian so Alexandria, just outside of DC (remember in the US we are more like 50 countries and a city) ran their DASH bus fare free and I think that mattered a lot to DC. Alexandria and DC are basically one giant city but the mass transit is totally fractured. It’s an annoying feature of this area, not a bug.
@LadyOzma Yup, I lived in Takoma Park for 20 years, and I remember riders being confused between the Metro Bus and the RideOn bus. A VERY annoying feature.
@Vagrarian it is terrible, especially when you end up using multiple services just to go to work. I swear the dc metro just needs to form something or other so our mass transit can be ONE thing. This is nonsense between VRE, Metrorail, Metro Bus, Alexandria, Fairfax, MARK, so on and so forth. Sigh.
Greg Walker 🏳️🌈@Vagrarian Kansas City has had fare-free buses for a couple of years. Similar population size, larger geographic area.
@mgwalker Hm, everything I read said it was the largest US city to do it so far. I didn't know about KC. Now I'm a little embarrassed.
@Vagrarian Nothing to be embarrassed about, and I’m sorry if my message came across as shame-y!
@mgwalker Naw, I just hate spreading misinformation, even by accident. I did edit the post to say KC already did it, tho. Seemed the honorable thing to do.
CBDawson 🏳️🌈@Vagrarian I recently heard an interview with the person who was in charge of the Kansas City system when they made the decision. Can’t recall where, but I highly recommend searching out interviews with him — he just had such a great perspective and a whole-systems view of the importance and role of transit in communities. It was so refreshing. I’ll see if I can find it when I’m back on a computer.
@cbdawson Oooh, thank you, if you find it, send it to me
Carter Baxter@Vagrarian @cbdawson I happened to sit next to him on a plane (to DC, coincidentally) the week they went free. Can concur: really smart and passionate. Really liked him. Wish I could recall his name.
@tbaxter @Vagrarian Found the interview with Robbie Makinen. It was part of this larger piece on NPR a few months ago about whether transit should be free: https://one.npr.org/?sharedMediaId=1119361651:1119361653
GlennMG@Vagrarian Need more cities on board with this.
Jodie Turner@Vagrarian - Wonderful news + vroom vroom! My 1st Masto screen capture I plunked on the Blue Bird (removed your handle 1st though)
WesDym@Vagrarian Years ago, I did a study on mass transit which concluded that fares serve no useful purpose, and should be abolished. (Fares mostly go to pay for the cost of their own collection. If you eliminate them, you also eliminate that cost, and the end financial result is small or nil.) Eliminating fares improves the service. The main obstacle is getting people to think about transit different, to think about it as infrastructure like roads and bridges.
Trees@Vagrarian We did this in the state Capitol of Washington State several years ago.
@Vagrarian thank you for recognizing Kansas City. While I applaud DC, they are not first, and if I’m not mistaken multiple cities are looking at KC’s example to go all-free, too
nebunez 
Seeerah ✍ 📖@nebunez totally free. I don't think it's gone into effect yet, but they're going to be completely free and the trains are considering offering discounted fare for low income riders.
George W Harris@Vagrarian Now do the subway.
Frank Inserra 🙌@Vagrarian My question is, how, if at all, will this impact suburban Maryland and Virginia rates that operate with DC under an interstate compact effectuated by WMATA. Is it paid for or will the system just go rent seeking in the suburbs or through an increase in Federal payment?
malcriada_lala_@Vagrarian what policies do they have in place to ensure that increase access/use/demand is linked with increase investment and development? Because without that, they will be perfectly set up to say "gosh, this system is falling apart. Guess we need to defund because it doesn't work".
Morgan@Vagrarian here's hoping my area does that too. Right now, busses are free for college students, but one needs a certain amount of financial privilege to go to college in the first place. It's not right that homeless people and low wage workers with a commute have to pay for bus fare when it's clear that they don't rely on fares
Kettlesmith 🦦@raphaelmorgan @Vagrarian We’ll see if it actually passes and how long it lasts. And it isn’t all routes, unfortunately. The surrounding counties aren’t onboard.
BillSaysThis: 20 Times Champs!@Vagrarian @emmah Not a major city but here on the Big Island the buses are free.