Kansas City 1st major US city with universal fare-free public transit

[Morphine Prince 109,648]

 

[Economy 52,841]

Doesn't much of Sweden have this too? Or was it Finalnd?

 

Anyway it's a great investment... Helps environment while boosting economy by being a wealth redistributer (since poorer people disproportionately rely on it more) and also because reduced congestion saves businesses time moving their products and saves regular drivers time, gas and milage on their cars!

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

Right after I moved away partly because of lack of transit, Son of a bitch  

 

[Doot 2]

This is actually awesome. 

I do hope though that they have at least also put some sort of effort in place into addressing the inevitable homeless situation in relation to this though. 

In Chicago, the public transit system already has a lot of homeless people who sleep, go to the bathroom on, among other things, the trains. 

And given the mental health issues a lot of homeless people face, which can often make them violent, hopefully there is an effort being put into place to help them versus just kicking them off the trains. 

[Economy 52,841]

16 hours ago, ItsTommyBitch said:

Right after I moved away partly because of lack of transit, Son of a bitch  

 

Well if the issue was lack of transit and not the cost... Don't think this would solve ur big issue lol

[AlexanderMagno 10,746]

I hope they know what they're doing. Free public transportation is great, but you need to have a really solid, well-oiled infrastructure. Do they have enough money from taxes to invest in their transports? Or will they raise taxes from now on, which might even be worse for some? Do they have enough trains to accomodate the large influx of passengers that will come with the free promise? I applaud the iniciative from an environmental perspective, but socially and economically this might open a Pandora box (unfortunately not every city in the world has enough money to go full-environmental, sometimes we need a middle ground or to work other things before getting there).

[Economy 52,841]

2 minutes ago, AlexanderMagno said:

I hope they know what they're doing. Free public transportation is great, but you need to have a really solid, well-oiled infrastructure. Do they have enough money from taxes to invest in their transports? Or will they raise taxes from now on, which might even be worse for some? Do they have enough trains to accomodate the large influx of passengers that will come with the free promise? I applaud the iniciative from an environmental perspective, but socially and economically this might open a Pandora box (unfortunately not every city in the world has enough money to go full-environmental, sometimes we need a middle ground or to work other things before getting there).

I don't know if the influx would be as big as u might be thinking

 

The people that rely on transit already to begin with usually it's because they can't afford a car (a car costs more to maintain here in North America. My brothers car insurance could pay a freakin mortgage)...

 

People that CAN afford a car likely won't give it up because North American cities are designed in really stupid ways that make getting around harder. Everything is zoned so far apart

 

It might increase a few users but largely I think the better off financially will keep their cars and the worse off will keep using transit

 

This might actually be a wealth equalizer

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

This is awesome!

How is it being paid for though, if no one has to pay to use it? 

[BARCODE 1,141]

Columbus is starting to do this but its only Downtown, German Village, Italian Village, Arena District, Brewery District, The Short North, Ohio State Campus Area that offer this. The outer parts of the city you have to pay. They have the CBUS (which is free), the regular bus is $2.00, transfers are free. Then the CMAX which serves the nicer areas and is $4.00 but has all sorts of special amenities like free wifi, charger ports, bathrooms, and beverage fridges. (Mostly people use this when there is a huge festival and they cant find a toilet, or, in the case of Pride, get on the bus for a quickie. ) 

 

But yeah, Columbus is growing really fast right now, especially in the urban parts. It was 25th biggest city in the U.S. in 2000. It's now the 13th biggest city in the U.S. (About 3 million). So I could see this happening in Columbus too because the demand. Plus Ohio State University campus is practically a city in itself (the campus expands about 50 blocks down High Street). And you aren't allowed to have a car on campus until junior year. So that right there alone is another 50,000 young people who need access to the bus.

[Jsays 329]

I’m from Kansas City, I’m sure your thinking this is a good idea. No.     Worst idea.     So many people get mugged in the busses and shot this will make it worse 

[Jsays 329]

Also my taxes are so high, for a $1000 check I pay 400 already in taxes.

[Glamourpuss 29,080]

1 minute ago, Jsays said:

Also my taxes are so high, for a $1000 check I pay 400 already in taxes.

Really? That's crazy!  

It's so unfair. 

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

4 hours ago, Economy said:

Well if the issue was lack of transit and not the cost... Don't think this would solve ur big issue lol

I meant it was too expensive for me to take current forms of transit that aren't free or efficient 

[Economy 52,841]

5 hours ago, Jsays said:

Also my taxes are so high, for a $1000 check I pay 400 already in taxes.

For how many checks per month? That's a 40% tax rate just curious on ur income and where u live

[Economy 52,841]

1 hour ago, ItsTommyBitch said:

I meant it was too expensive for me to take current forms of transit that aren't free or efficient 

Oh ok makes sense then