October 27, 20168 yr I'll be very interested to see how REM works out in Montreal, whose rubber-tired Metro has long been a model transit network. We went to the Montreal Jazz festival a decade ago and practically lived on the Metro, which greatly enhances the City's already great walkability. The Paris Metro Line 6 is rubber-wheeled; it's not all that much quieter, surprisingly. A few cities where driverless buses are already in operation: http://gizmodo.com/5-cities-with-driverless-public-buses-on-the-streets-ri-1736146699 Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
October 27, 20168 yr I'll be very interested to see how REM works out in Montreal, whose rubber-tired Metro has long been a model transit network. We went to the Montreal Jazz festival a decade ago and practically lived on the Metro, which greatly enhances the City's already great walkability. The Paris Metro Line 6 is rubber-wheeled; it's not all that much quieter, surprisingly. A few cities where driverless buses are already in operation: http://gizmodo.com/5-cities-with-driverless-public-buses-on-the-streets-ri-1736146699 Interesting... I also once read that the rubber tires were used on these subways to lower the vibrations to building foundations.
October 27, 20168 yr Driverless trains can't save a transit agency anywhere near the amount of money that driverless buses could. A driverless Sunday night bus with just 5 passengers isn't making money, but it's not hemorrhaging it either like they do now. So if bus-only transit systems retain their subsidy, they'll be able to provide very frequent 24-hour service on trunk lines and introduce all sorts of obscure routes during the workweek.
October 27, 20168 yr $5.5B is some serious coin for a 42-mile rail network... Denver is spending that amount, or less, for a rapid/commuter rail network that will reach 116 miles, when the current budgeted extensions are built out. I'm not convinced that the Denver system is going to really transform the metro or permit many to live without a car who do currently. It's great for Downtown but there aren't a lot of TOD possibilities with the new commuter lines. Lots of single tracking on the new commuter and light rail lines to achieve the 100+ route miles.
March 6, 20178 yr All my UrbanOhio friends out there. I am currently involved in civic engagement program that aids young professional in finding their civic voice. One important part of our work is to help various community groups develop projects from idea into reality. Specifically our group is helping to raise awareness of the issues with JOB ACCESS and TRANSPORTATION in Northeast Ohio. I am reaching out to you, my peers, to solicit stories about your everyday struggles of using public transportation to access work, healthcare, food and any other important part of your daily life. If you have any stories that you would like to share please email me. All stories will be subject to sharing in a public platform but identities can be withheld if you deem necessary. If you know someone who struggles with these issues please feel free to have them reach out to me as well. Thank you all. Let's help to make NEO a better place. Nick
January 3, 20187 yr I'm a big believer in having competitively bid public transit services, not just in terms of construction or maintenance, but in operations as well. But it's not a panacea, as this article shows.... Boston MBTA finds contracting-out is no solution for poor management http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/02/contracted-services-are-persistent-problem-for/L2LF2TbHzGQTEHeQbtmm1K/story.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 22, 20187 yr Like something out of the movie Airplane. Congrats, Philadelphia on your return to the Super Bowl! Check out @jemelehill’s Tweet: "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 27, 20187 yr So communities need to find ways to capture the value from this realestate in order to help support the transit system without raising taxes.... When public transit comes in, property value goes up! https://t.co/7FWabshOyp by @realtordotcom "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 2, 20187 yr I'm curious why developers are not utilized more in the development of new transit systems. Transit systems rely on neighborhoods with proper population densities and a healthy mix of land uses to be economically viable - meaning there's an incentive to build densely because more units within a space means more potential revenue. The costs can be dispersed into the leases and sales from new developments. I believe this is similar to how it was done in some cities when streetcars were first being installed: a developer would lay down the tracks and place new plots within walking distance of them. The costs accrued were then included in the sale prices or rents of the homes, apartments, or commercial spaces.
October 23, 20186 yr This is nuts! I was just in Rome in June but didn't ride the metro. We took buses, trams, taxis and walked a lot.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 2, 20196 yr finland is doing this: https://www.railjournal.com/policy/finland-to-open-rail-projects-to-private-investors/
March 28, 20205 yr It's funny how some people think our country "can't afford" to build and operate decent public transportation and then ignore the alternative that we are forced to live with. Americans are carrying nearly $1.3 trillion in debt for personal automobiles.
March 28, 20205 yr 10 hours ago, taestell said: It's funny how some people think our country "can't afford" to build and operate decent public transportation and then ignore the alternative that we are forced to live with. Americans are carrying nearly $1.3 trillion in debt for personal automobiles. The repo men are starting their engines. Seemingly nobody is capable of buying a sensible vehicle - new or used.
April 14, 20205 yr Came across this amazing 1928 cutaway of Piccadilly Circus underground station today. The top-level booking hall and circulator had been a recent addition earlier that decade. The rest was the 1905 original. Still going strong today and I’ve travelled it many times over the years. Most recently in January. Which feels like a looong time ago right now! My hovercraft is full of eels
August 31, 20204 yr Quote Postal and transit services have the same problem. We want them to attract high usage and we want them to go everywhere, but those goals imply opposite kinds of service. Pursuing either goal will cause outcomes that look like failure when judged by the other goal’s measures of success. It’s like we’re telling our taxi driver to turn right and left at the same time. When they can’t do that, we just yell louder and call them incompetent. Is that taking us where we want to go? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-31/how-public-transit-is-like-the-postal-service
September 1, 20204 yr 7 hours ago, Foraker said: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-31/how-public-transit-is-like-the-postal-service Reading that article again gave me a thought. What if RTA did a study about the best way to complete a "downtown loop," present two route options for people to vote on, select the winning option, and then put a levy on the ballot to build it -- would the community approve funding for that specific project? (psst, RTA -- it's worth a try!)
September 1, 20204 yr 7 hours ago, Foraker said: Reading that article again gave me a thought. What if RTA did a study about the best way to complete a "downtown loop," present two route options for people to vote on, select the winning option, and then put a levy on the ballot to build it -- would the community approve funding for that specific project? (psst, RTA -- it's worth a try!) Countywide would almost certainly fail, unfortunately. But if they listened to the downtown advocates and put a creative downtown land use tax up for discussion, maybe there’s a chance. Edited September 1, 20204 yr by Boomerang_Brian Add my content When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
September 29, 20204 yr uuuuggghhhh! MTA chair rips Senate Republicans over ‘Hunger Games’ airline bailout Robert PozaryckiSeptember 24, 2020 Senate Republicans — who are in a hurry to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat on or about Election Day — have been slow to care about public transit, according to Pat Foye, who charged that they’re “ignoring the massive needs of public transportation agencies across the country” while attempting to “prop up private airlines, which have billion-dollar stock market capitalizations.” https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-chair-rips-senate-republicans-over-hunger-games-airline-bailout/
October 25, 20204 yr This is a great thread. Most of US cities don't even have a transit service standard. And if they do it's nowhere near as good as what Toronto requires. Note that this map shows suburban transit routes that operate at least every 30 minutes until midnight Sunday. Suburban transit routes in Toronto have ridership that most downtown-based routes in America can't muster. Toronto may have the best transit system in Canada but its service standard is certainly not unique among Canadian cities. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 27, 20204 yr ^I'm assuming the other transit systems in Ohio would have the same blank map but I'm wondering what the riders per capita is
October 27, 20204 yr 1 hour ago, Dev said: ^I'm assuming the other transit systems in Ohio would have the same blank map but I'm wondering what the riders per capita is Greater Cleveland has eight routes that run out to the suburbs every 30 minutes or better until at least midnight Sunday..... #3 bus (Superior) between Downtown Cleveland and East Cleveland (Red Line Windermere station). #6 bus (HealthLine) between Downtown Cleveland to East Cleveland (Red Line Windermere station). #14 bus (Kinsman) between Downtown Cleveland and Shaker Heights. #15 bus (Union-Harvard) between Downtown Cleveland through Warrensville Heights and Highland HIlls. #26 bus (Detroit) between Downtown Cleveland, through Lakewood and Rocky River to the Westgate Transit Center in Fairview Park. #28 bus (Euclid) between Red Line's Windermere station in East Cleveland to Euclid. #66 rail (Red Line) between Hopkins Airport, Downtown Cleveland and East Cleveland. #67 rail (Blue/Green lines) between Downtown Cleveland and Shaker Heights. Plus three additional routes operating wholly within the city of Cleveland (but #10 bus comes within feet of going suburb-to-suburb) scheduled every 30 minutes or better until at least midnight Sunday..... #1 bus (St Clair) between Downtown Cleveland and East 153rd St. #10 bus (East 93rd-105th) between Dupont Loop next to Bratenahl and Turney loop next to Garfield Hts. #22 bus (Lorain) between Downtown Cleveland and West Park Red Line station. #51ABC bus (West 25th) between Downtown Cleveland and Old Brooklyn. Edited October 27, 20204 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 27, 20204 yr On 4/14/2016 at 5:36 PM, SixthCity said: I'm assuming most disruptive behavior on public transit is already illegal and punishable. Regardless, the main issue is enforcement. It's usually impossible, and when it's not, publicly unpopular. Then maybe they could choose not to enforce the laws against smacking disruptive people upside the head? Seriously. As recently as when I was growing up, that was what happened. If someone sufficiently disturbed the peace, no one would call the cops. The people being disturbed would handle it. The usual result would range from a mild cussing out to a moderately severe beatdown, depending on the severity of the offense and how many times it had been repeated. Today of course that would be instant lawsuit, if not arrest for assault or battery. So why the selective enforcement? Why is it effectively legal to disturb the peace, but not legal to restore it by the most efficient (and, considering the alternative of heavy fines or imprisonment, also the least cruel) means possible?
October 27, 20204 yr 1 hour ago, KJP said: Greater Cleveland has eight routes that run out to the suburbs every 30 minutes or better until at least midnight Sunday..... #3 bus (Superior) between Downtown Cleveland and East Cleveland (Red Line Windermere station). #6 bus (HealthLine) between Downtown Cleveland to East Cleveland (Red Line Windermere station). #14 bus (Kinsman) between Downtown Cleveland and Shaker Heights. #15 bus (Union-Harvard) between Downtown Cleveland through Warrensville Heights and Highland HIlls. #26 bus (Detroit) between Downtown Cleveland, through Lakewood and Rocky River to the Westgate Transit Center in Fairview Park. #28 bus (Euclid) between Red Line's Windermere station in East Cleveland to Euclid. #66 rail (Red Line) between Hopkins Airport, Downtown Cleveland and East Cleveland. #67 rail (Blue/Green lines) between Downtown Cleveland and Shaker Heights. Plus three additional routes operating wholly within the city of Cleveland (but #10 bus comes within feet of going suburb-to-suburb) scheduled every 30 minutes or better until at least midnight Sunday..... #1 bus (St Clair) between Downtown Cleveland and East 153rd St. #10 bus (East 93rd-105th) between Dupont Loop next to Bratenahl and Turney loop next to Garfield Hts. #22 bus (Lorain) between Downtown Cleveland and West Park Red Line station. #51ABC bus (West 25th) between Downtown Cleveland and Old Brooklyn. I don't know that most of the places that have 24/7 service here, including East Cleveland (where I was born) or Lakewood (where I live now) are what most people think of as "the suburbs" although technically they are. I'm pretty sure all of these areas have population densities comparable to Cleveland proper. Whereas, say in Chicago or New York, at least pre-COVID, you would have Metra or LIRR/Metro North/NJ Transit service to places that were not only suburban but almost rural in character, pretty close to 24/7, although not necessarily frequently other than in rush hour.
November 5, 20204 yr The Transport Politic has a round-up of all the transit issues that were on ballots across the country on Tuesday. Surprised to see that the majority passed while Portland's latest transit expansion plan failed. In Greater Atlanta, Gwinnett County's transit tax is still too close to call with votes still being counted.
November 5, 20204 yr ^It's amazing that California still requires a stiff 2/3 supermajority to raise local taxes but the transit taxes keep passing in LA and around the Bay. A lot of stuff that might have happened in Ohio (like a Hamilton County Airport instead of CVG) didn't in the 1950s and 1960s because of that era's supermajority requirement.
November 5, 20204 yr Florida also requires a 60% supermajority to pass a constitutional amendment by referendum, and their new minimum wage just passed that way, which seems pretty hard to do for a statewide issue. I can't really think of any proposed amendment that would get 60% statewide support in Ohio.
November 6, 20204 yr 22 hours ago, taestell said: Surprised to see that the majority passed while Portland's latest transit expansion plan failed Portland was the only one that was a payroll tax. Most of the rest were sales taxes, along with a property tax (Austin) and a bond issue (Fairfax). It looks like the opposition campaign focused on the tax theoretically hurting job recovery post-COVID.
November 8, 20204 yr ^The money would still have to get though Dewine to ODOT or whatever agency would build the thing. Even if Amtrak bought Ohio's railroads the GOP could block things locally by refusing to sell pieces of public land needed for double-tracking, etc.
November 8, 20204 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 9, 20204 yr 9 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: ^The money would still have to get though Dewine to ODOT or whatever agency would build the thing. Even if Amtrak bought Ohio's railroads the GOP could block things locally by refusing to sell pieces of public land needed for double-tracking, etc. I trust that some Rs have come around on this, including Dewine if he's gifted 90%+ of the cost. ODOT received overwhelming support for rail in their latest round of community feedback, I'd certainly hope that isn't ignored if there's wads of cash being offered for rail.
November 9, 20204 yr ^The Tea Party is coming back. Deficits are going to matter again. Debt ceiling drama.
November 19, 20204 yr Reading the tea leaves, it seems like Portland's transit tax failed not because of an anti-tax attitude, but because the specific projects that would have been funded by this tax were not very popular. The neighborhoods that would have benefitted the most (by getting the new light rail line) voted against the tax. Quote Why—and where—Metro’s $5 billion transportation bond measure failed It’s difficult to argue that the measure failed because of widespread anti-tax sentiment: Voters in the Portland and Multnomah County, in the center of the region, approved every single money measure on the ballot, except for Metro’s transportation tax. Portland voters approved a $400 million parks levy (64 percent yes), a $1.2 billion school bond (75 percent yes), a $400 million library bond (60 percent yes). They voted to impose a new high earner tax to fund tuition-free preschool education. These votes come on top of other measures they approved strongly in the May primary election, including multi-billion dollar regional tax to fund homeless services and extension of a 10 cent a gallon Portland city gas tax—which passed with an 77 to 23 percent margin of victory. [...] In theory, at least two geographic constituencies should have been big beneficiaries of the measure. The biggest single project in the package, the SouthWest Light Rail, earmarked for nearly $1 billion of Metro money, would have built a new light rail line with stations in neighborhoods in Southwest Portland. But apparently this area didn’t care: All of the Multnomah County precincts through which the project would have run voted against the measure.
November 19, 20204 yr If you're going to run a streetcar through a bunch of existing residential-only SFH you're at least going to have to put an amusement park at the end
November 19, 20204 yr 1 hour ago, GCrites80s said: existing residential-only SFH ...which is pretty much the entirety of Portland's MAX light rail system. Randal O'Toole had a point as it pertained to Portland but he applied it to places where it wasn't applicable, i.e. Seattle, where their light rail system is almost entirely grade separated and links fairly dense "midtown" areas that Portland simply doesn't have. I mean, the prevailing built density of much of the 3C's is denser than the prevailing built density of Portland, even after 30 years of light rail and a growth boundary.
August 23, 20213 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 17, 20223 yr Excellent thread on why increasing frequency on transit should be much higher priority than free fares: When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
March 10, 20223 yr why? whhyyy? Pocket worthy Stories to fuel your mind Why Did America Give Up on Mass Transit? (Don't Blame Cars.) Streetcar, bus, and metro systems have been ignoring one lesson for 100 years: Service drives demand. CityLab Jonathan English One hundred years ago, the United States had a public transportation system that was the envy of the world. Today, outside a few major urban centers, it is barely on life support. Even in New York City, subway ridership is well below its 1946 peak. Annual per capita transit trips in the U.S. plummeted from 115.8 in 1950 to 36.1 in 1970, where they have roughly remained since, even as population has grown. This has not happened in much of the rest of the world. more: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-did-america-give-up-on-mass-transit-don-t-blame-cars?utm_source=pocket-newtab WMATA/Shutterstock/Madison McVeigh/CityLab
March 11, 20223 yr 10 hours ago, mrnyc said: why? whhyyy? Pocket worthy Stories to fuel your mind Why Did America Give Up on Mass Transit? (Don't Blame Cars.) Streetcar, bus, and metro systems have been ignoring one lesson for 100 years: Service drives demand. CityLab Jonathan English One hundred years ago, the United States had a public transportation system that was the envy of the world. Today, outside a few major urban centers, it is barely on life support. Even in New York City, subway ridership is well below its 1946 peak. Annual per capita transit trips in the U.S. plummeted from 115.8 in 1950 to 36.1 in 1970, where they have roughly remained since, even as population has grown. This has not happened in much of the rest of the world. more: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-did-america-give-up-on-mass-transit-don-t-blame-cars?utm_source=pocket-newtab WMATA/Shutterstock/Madison McVeigh/CityLab The major reason behind the collapse of mass transit in this country is summed up by "National City Lines". This company that was a joint venture of General Motors, Firestone, Phillips Oil and Standard Oil systematically bought up many transit systems all over the country. This company purchased the struggling transit systems in these cities to eventually dismantle the streetcar systems. The goals were to increase demand for GM's vehicles, Firestone's tires and Standard Oil's fuel. They destroyed the streetcar systems in Baltimore, Washington D.C, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City, Los Angeles and many other cities. Even for transit systems that became operations of government agencies like Cleveland's in 1942, the influence didn't stop. Various transit officials were "awarded" things like car dealerships. Eventually, the corporation was found guilty of conspiracy, but the penalty was essentially a nominal amount.
March 14, 20223 yr If anyone is interested in Steve Albini’s views on public transportation(!), they can be found in the last 10mins of this podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-brother/id1561600845?i=1000553928947 My hovercraft is full of eels
April 8, 20223 yr it’s important to keep in mind that American governments are really bad at transportation policy, and ideas that are popular here are likely NOT good ideas When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
April 8, 20223 yr I think free fares can be an extremely important tool for smaller cities to utilize, but only if they use it strategically. If cities are willing to do what it takes to actually increase frequency, reduce parking requirements, increase walkability, and increase density throughout the city, I would say free fares is a great tool to encourage car-free and car-lite living. It allows people to adopt that lifestyle years before they would if transit companies simply increase frequency. The free fares might not be a large financial barrier for the choice riders, but it can be a large mental barrier. Kansas City and Cincinnati are not Beijing, Tokyo, Paris, or New York. The fare revenue is not so significant that they can't recover that through other means.
April 8, 20223 yr 56 minutes ago, ryanlammi said: I think free fares can be an extremely important tool for smaller cities to utilize, but only if they use it strategically. If cities are willing to do what it takes to actually increase frequency, reduce parking requirements, increase walkability, and increase density throughout the city, I would say free fares is a great tool to encourage car-free and car-lite living. It allows people to adopt that lifestyle years before they would if transit companies simply increase frequency. The free fares might not be a large financial barrier for the choice riders, but it can be a large mental barrier. Kansas City and Cincinnati are not Beijing, Tokyo, Paris, or New York. The fare revenue is not so significant that they can't recover that through other means. The point is that if there is additional transit funding available, increasing frequency would provide more benefit to more people than free fares. Increased frequency makes it more likely someone could get rid of their car. That provides substantially more savings than free fares can deliver. When we prioritize the spending of limited transit dollars, free fares should be pretty far down the list of priorities. And it’s frustrating right now to see such extensive advocacy for free fares when many other transit policies should be prioritized. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
April 8, 20223 yr 12 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said: The point is that if there is additional transit funding available, increasing frequency would provide more benefit to more people than free fares. Increased frequency makes it more likely someone could get rid of their car. That provides substantially more savings than free fares can deliver. When we prioritize the spending of limited transit dollars, free fares should be pretty far down the list of priorities. And it’s frustrating right now to see such extensive advocacy for free fares when many other transit policies should be prioritized. I'm not arguing that there aren't higher priorities than free fares. I agree wholeheartedly. Philadelphia (where the twitter user is based), is in a different position than Kansas City, though. Pretending that Kansas City should emulate Paris or Tokyo is just as ridiculous as suggesting that New York or Philadelphia should emulate Kansas City. Good ideas can come from anywhere, but the utility of these ideas is different for every city. I don't know enough about Kansas City's transit (I didn't know they were going fare free?) to know whether it is a good policy for them, but I would highly suspect they have bigger issues to tackle before they would get the full benefit of free fares to boost long-term ridership. Like I said in my initial response: IF the city is already doing a lot to encourage car-free and car-lite living, and the bus system is largely reliable and efficient, I think a medium-term free fares program can help significantly boost ridership and get people riding transit who wouldn't consider it before. But again, a lot of other things have to be done before you just make fares free and expect current drivers to ditch their cars.
April 9, 20223 yr 6 hours ago, ryanlammi said: I'm not arguing that there aren't higher priorities than free fares. I agree wholeheartedly. Philadelphia (where the twitter user is based), is in a different position than Kansas City, though. Pretending that Kansas City should emulate Paris or Tokyo is just as ridiculous as suggesting that New York or Philadelphia should emulate Kansas City. Good ideas can come from anywhere, but the utility of these ideas is different for every city. I don't know enough about Kansas City's transit (I didn't know they were going fare free?) to know whether it is a good policy for them, but I would highly suspect they have bigger issues to tackle before they would get the full benefit of free fares to boost long-term ridership. Like I said in my initial response: IF the city is already doing a lot to encourage car-free and car-lite living, and the bus system is largely reliable and efficient, I think a medium-term free fares program can help significantly boost ridership and get people riding transit who wouldn't consider it before. But again, a lot of other things have to be done before you just make fares free and expect current drivers to ditch their cars. Yes, and that was the OP’s point: Don’t talk about KC going fare free without also discussing how all of the best global public transit systems charge fares. Philly should be aspiring to a Euro or East Asian transit system. KC’s streetcar has been free since the beginning, by design. (The local capital funding and operational funding come from a special sales tax at businesses around the line - a model we should consider for additional transit funding in OH.) A new manager took over the complete KC transit system. He decided that it was hard to justify free fares for the relatively wealthier riders of the streetcar while charging fares for the relatively poorer people riding the bus. They explored ways to make it work, and figured it out. But there’s only a small percentage of residents in KC that ride transit, and fare collection didn’t cover a particularly large share of operating expenses anyway. Perfectly reasonable to analyze and make commentary on KC’s system and the impact of free fares. But such commentary should be put in context and compared to best in class systems (worldwide), all of which do charge fares. Philly is particularly egregious, along with Chicago and Boston, in that it has an extensive commuter rail system that should upgraded by electrification, 10-20 min all day frequency, Proof of Payment fares (rather than Conductors), reduction in fares, and land use reforms around stations, plus some infill stations. Fantastic for transit and also the most cost effective project this country could execute towards reduction of greenhouse gases. Right there are a bunch of items that should be WAY higher on the priority list than free fares. (Of course those items are also irrelevant to our OH transit discussions.) Bringing it back to OH transit, frequency improvements would be the best way to make it easier for the most people to get rid of their cars (or at least reduce car usage). Then dedicated transit lanes and Proof of Payment fares to increase speed. Then perhaps system expansion. Systems always have constraints, so let’s thoroughly evaluate the benefits and costs of each transit concept as we make policy decisions within those constraints. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
April 9, 20223 yr 7 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said: The point is that if there is additional transit funding available, increasing frequency would provide more benefit to more people than free fares. Increased frequency makes it more likely someone could get rid of their car. That provides substantially more savings than free fares can deliver. When we prioritize the spending of limited transit dollars, free fares should be pretty far down the list of priorities. And it’s frustrating right now to see such extensive advocacy for free fares when many other transit policies should be prioritized. I look at free fares as a step in the process to obtaining more stakeholders and more funding. I'd consider it like a marketing scheme in a much bigger picture.
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