Thursday, February 20, 2020
Increasing fares has led to decline. Fare-free make economic sense.
Fare free transit makes both moral and economic sense, and would be a critical step in fighting climate change. The MBTA has increased fares 4 times since 2012, while ridership has continued to decline. Cities that have adopted free public transit, meanwhile, have seen ridership increase as well as a surge in transit equity. Furthermore, fares from bus and subway rides amounted to just over 20 percent in revenues for the MBTA budget in 2018, a gap that could be filled with new progressive revenue if fares were eliminated.https://medium.com/@jordanforma/public-transit-is-a-public-good-1095ae7df8e9
Monday, February 17, 2020
Best way to improve public transit is start by removing fares
Michelle Wu, a City Council member in Boston, wants everyone to ride for free on subways and buses that crisscross the region.
Wu says the city is experiencing a "transportation crisis" as ridership declines, rush-hour traffic rises and the infrastructure of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority continues to crumble.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/do-we-care-about-public-cities-weigh-free-public-transit-n1137561
The transportation authority needs salvation and money for repairs, commuters and local transit advocates say, but instead of raising fares beyond the $2.90 it costs now if you pay for a subway ride in cash, Wu thinks a solution may lie in dropping fares altogether.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Brockton, MA, City Councilors open-minded to idea of #freepublictransit
“I haven’t heard of it in Brockton but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” said City Council President Shirley Asack. “If other cities and towns are doing it, we should be as well.”
At-Large City Councilor and former mayor Moises Rodrigues expressed interest in fare-free programs for low-income riders or students, but stopped short of supporting a universal subsidy.
Win Farwell, another former mayor and at-large city councilor, said the $225,000 price tag in Lawrence seems affordable in the grand scheme of municipal finances.
“That is not a large sum of money within a $450 million budget, which Brockton has,” he said.
Ridership up 24% on fare-free buses in Lawrence, MA.
“The amount of money we’re collecting in fares is so little that we just decided to cover that amount with city money,” Rivera said. “I don’t know what Worcester or Brockton’s money situation is but it can’t be worse than mine. What I would say is just do it, use your own money. I think you’re going to find it’s very inexpensive.”
Free buses have proven to be popular in Lawrence. Surveys conducted on the three subsidized routes found that ridership jumped 24 percent. Ninety percent of those riders were commuting to work, the data showed, and 87 percent of them earned less than $20,000 per year.
“It says there is a need,” Rivera said of the ridership bump. “People say, ‘Can a dollar really be an impediment to travel?’ But when it’s $2 every day for a year, that’s real money.”https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20200209/lawrence-made-buses-free-could-brockton-do-same
Friday, February 7, 2020
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
New Haven, CT, Mayor joins rally for better public transit
NEW HAVEN — Residents called for greater investment in public transportation and city streets Tuesday, with hopes of bolstering economic opportunity, combating climate change and giving all New Haven residents an equal ability to move through the city and region safely and comfortably.https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/New-Haven-residents-rally-for-investment-in-15030420.php
...Dottie Green, a member of an organization that works to remember Parks’ legacy. “You cannot have equity and limit people’s access.
...“People should have more options to, in an affordable way, access their jobs, access government, and lead a life that is safe and allows us more opportunities to interact with people,” said Mayor Justin Elicker.
...According to the New Haven Independent, nine pedestrians were struck and killed in New Haven last year, and two more have been killed this year.
...“Lack of good, proper transportation is a barrier. When a person can’t find a job, or afford transportation to get to a job, or get home because the bus doesn’t run early enough or late enough, that is a huge barrier,” said Dumas. “Transportation is a civil rights issue.”
...“If I can’t access rural communities, or I can’t access (people in) communities that don’t look like me, then that is institutional racism built into our transportation system that we have to address — and we need to address,” said Farmer.
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