@danib the way I see it is that reports of its demise are exaggerated. The best news I had all day is that the current Metro for DC approach is going to be evaluated by the Lab DC. We might learn some valuable lessons from that.

@danib I think that's a bit of an unnecessary knot to twist oneself into. If it's good service and free, I think riders will be happy. IMO the crux is going to be not whether there's some kind of conceptual deepening of bus as second-class (not so easy for me to imagine w all the new bus lanes popping up), but whether the service does improve (which is part of the aim of no-fare). Also IMO, the $100 monthly subsidy should have had a rather more robust plan behind it before they rolled it out.

@danib @ggwash @alpert Finally, I'm hearing this "two tier" concern and it doesn't make sense to me. The bus is treated second tier for any number of reasons, and I don't believe them (already) being cheaper is among the most important by a long shot. The key ones are that they're slow and unreliable compared to rail. If anything, this approach is more likely to get more economically diverse people riding the bus than now (currently very few who earn more than $50K a year do so)

@danib @ggwash @alpert Thirdly it would immediately call into question all the university programs, which means less $ for WMATA. Fourthly, fraud would have been a huge threat - no fraud if the program's for everyone.

@danib @ggwash @alpert A couple thoughts. One is "administratively easier" can be the difference between a program that can be administered and one that takes years to figure out and is then done poorly. Secondly people had to apply for the cards - so you have an immediate equity issue there in terms of who is more likely to go through such a process and access public services (and prove your eligibility).

@danib @alpert Dani not sure if you're a @ggwash reader or not, but we basically took the opposite view (https://ggwash.org/view/87567/council-takes-the-right-turn-on-metro-for-dc-bill). I talk to a lot of bureaucrats who adore transit and know their stuff, and I didn't find a single one who thought the $100 SmarTrip was feasible or would achieve its goals. But the free-bus (& the 12 24h bus routes - honestly I like them almost equally) approach can work, and if the bill backers still really want to do the cards they have some time to consult & plan.

@alpert Yes - part of the problem is lack of a common idea/agreement among policymakers about why there are two services that can be then communicated to the public. I think most folks still find it odd that we have two such different services.

@alpert As I understand it, code's been changed to mandate Circulator has to be $1 fare. I agree overall bus is bus. But isn't this a wider dual-system problem? I remember when I arrived in DC being really befuddled why two systems, how was I supposed to know which was which, why strollers on some, etc. So I think it's a wider issue and this is more of a symptom.