Kansas City becomes first major US city to have free public transporation

[Alley_Dweller]

@Dewey_Finn

I took a mass transit survey recently and one question was interesting. “Would you take mass transit on a regular basis if there was an option for a free Uber/Lyft ride if you had to get home in an emergency?” The point being that some people don’t take mass transit even if it would work for them because they’re thinking about the rare event (medical appointment, illness, etc) where they have to leave work outside their normal schedule, so the mass transit authority is thinking about offering vouchers for taxis or private car services for those rare occasions to encourage more riders.

This sounds like the Guaranteed Ride Home service offered by Virginia Railway Express (VRE), a Washington DC area commuter rail line. They also cover rides home if you have to work overtime. If you live more than 40 miles away, they may choose to provide you with a free rental car.

[Ruken]

@Alley_Dweller

This sounds like the Guaranteed Ride Home service offered by Virginia Railway Express (VRE), a Washington DC area commuter rail line. They also cover rides home if you have to work overtime. If you live more than 40 miles away, they may choose to provide you with a free rental car.

I don’t use VRE but I work with people who do, and the opinion of the ride program isn’t high. Something about the allowable use scenarios being too narrow. But I don’t know the system well.

I have been on it a few times. Much nicer trains than I typically ride, that’s for sure.

[Ruken]

@echoreply

Road use taxes on gas (or often with registration for EVs) do not cover the full cost of providing roads.

Very true. Registration fees too, though. The amounts vary state to state: How Are Your State’s Roads Funded? | Tax Foundation

[Chronos]

Lots of cities have some free public transit. In Cleveland, for instance, there are about five lines that stay in the downtown area that are free, and there are free buses in the University Circle area largely funded by Case Western Reserve University.

And Bozeman, MT doesn’t fit any standard of a “major city”, but they have a free bus system that makes a little go a long way: Four buses in service at any given time, each driving an hour-long loop, timed around the class schedule at Montana State University.

I think, though, that the major obstacle preventing most cities from offering free transit is the homeless problem: If buses are free, then homeless people will ride them just to get out of the weather.

[RioRico]

Is KC still considered a “major city”? Really?

Then there’s the tragedy of fare-driven transit: (lyrics) (uTube)

IIRC from our Italian visit two decades ago, buses were private operations, not public, and passage was easy and not expensive. Buy a blank ticket, time-stamp it on boarding, and be sure to have it when the inspector looms.

Government tax inspectors roamed the streets then, demanding receipts for purchases showing taxes paid, else levying an immediate tax on the supposed retail price. US tourists accustomed to tossing receipts for minor items quickly learned to comply. A similar program in the states could raise local revenues and subsidize transit.

[I_Love_Me_Vol.I]

@Dinsdale

Good on them.

Gotta admit, my initial reaction was to wonder whether Kansas City is a “major” US city?

Upon looking, tho, I see it is #38, 1 slot behind Atlanta, and 2 ahead of Miami. Weird how some cities seem (to me) larger or smaller than their population alone would suggest.

Like San Francisco? Folks always think it’s got more people than it actually does. We’re not Manhattan yet.

[Nava]

@Andy_L

This is such a win-win situation - people get free transit, drivers get reduced traffic and easier parking, everyone gets less air pollution, road maintenance costs likely decline, etc. What’s not to like?

All of that works the same with decent prices…

so long as the routes themselves are decent. The main reason to opt for personal transportation rather than a collective system is convenience, not cost. How is the coverage in Kansas City, MO?

@Robot_Arm

I was watching a town-hall-type show about transit improvements many years ago, and someone made an interesting point. He said that transit improvements are pitched to a community for how much they will improve things for the people who are not taking transit. Everyone else, so they say, will be taking the bus and that will reduce traffic, so you can keep driving your car. It’s not universally true, of course, but I do see that argument quite a lot. I think that way of thinking is part of the reason that public transit is so awful in the U.S. When running a transit system, your first thought should be how to serve the people who’ll be using it, not the people who won’t.

As I’m not going to be in your vicinity any time soon, would you provide me with an address to send you a keg of your favorite machine oil?

[BigT]

It seems to me that you don’t need free emergency transportation so much as just available emergency transportation whose cost, when combined with the public transportation, winds up being cheaper than having and maintaining your own vehicle. (Cheaper in this case means less the price you put on any comforts you give up, of course.)

[dalej42]

@Dewey_Finn

I took a mass transit survey recently and one question was interesting. “Would you take mass transit on a regular basis if there was an option for a free Uber/Lyft ride if you had to get home in an emergency?” The point being that some people don’t take mass transit even if it would work for them because they’re thinking about the rare event (medical appointment, illness, etc) where they have to leave work outside their normal schedule, so the mass transit authority is thinking about offering vouchers for taxis or private car services for those rare occasions to encourage more riders.

My former employer had a program like that especially for people on night shifts. There is some public transit 24 hours a day in Chicago but it can be a pain after midnight. Interesting, I only used the benefit once, the day they eliminated my job!