KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the popularity of its streetcar as a guide, Kansas City is considering the possibility of making all public transit free. It would be the first major U.S. city to do so.
The streetcar is free — paid for by a specialized tax district, alternative weekly The Pitch notes — and is well used. “I think what we know is, if you remove the fare, you remove a barrier to use, and more people are going to ride the system,” Tom Gerend, the executive director of the KC Streetcar Authority, told the paper.
And so the city is looking at making its bus system free, as well. Kansas City, Mo., mayor Quinton Lucas has said he favors the idea, and the CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority — which serves counties in both Missouri and Kansas — has already made bus transportation free for veterans and many students.
The transit agency would have to find a source for the $8 million in revenue that comes from fares; possibilities include redirecting some of the money raised by the streetcar’s tax district, additional funding from the city of Kansas City, Mo., public-private partnerships — and the proposed expansion of the streetcar line. That would both expand the area and revenue from the streetcar’s tax district, and allow the bus system to eliminate a line that would be served by the streetcar, saving $4 million a year.
I live in the KC area and worked downtown for a year in a building that has a streetcar stop next to it. We rode the streetcar frequently for lunch and other activities, and most of the people riding it are a mix of suburbanites and individuals living along the corridor the streetcar serves. It’s had an *enormous* impact on downtown Kansas City, to the point that real estate along the expansion corridor that isn’t even under construction yet has already skyrocketed in value in anticipation of the increased pedestrian traffic that it will generate, especially from UMKC and the Westport neighborhood. The city is already realizing huge returns in sales tax revenue from existing businesses along the current corridor and the investment in the initial line will have paid for itself in a relatively short period of time, all without charging fares.
The only people against it are the wealthy white business owners that don’t want to serve lower-income (and generally racially diverse) patrons they’re not used to.
We have to remember that no transit system, either NYC or Metro, or Bart pay for themselves. Often it costs 3-4x what the fare is to subsidize each ride. We provide “free” fire, police, and EMS to residents, trash collection is often part of the city “tax” structure. In my city it’s included in the water and sewer billings. So who would be hurt by “FARE FREE” transit? The people who run parking facilities downtown? Gas stations? auto mechanics? Insurance agents (as people realize they can “do without” as many cars)? The State, who would see a dip in licensing fees for vehicles? Personally I have NO problem with making transit FARE FREE, as it would balloon usage for a minimal use of taxes.
Niles, IL (a suburb of Chicago) has had a free city bus service for around 40 years. Apparently still going strong to this day.
More free stuff for the deadbeats being paid for by the working people and those that are responsible.
Another progressive city. Kansas City is on the right track!
As long as they don’t turn into rolling homeless shelters
Sounds too good to be true. I guess we’ll see what happens. One thing that was not mentioned is how are future labor costs considered, including both the potential growth in the labor force and the normal annual or semi-annual increase in wages and benefits.
PA does allow senior citizens to ride for free on public mass transit but not during rush hours. However, much of PA is rural without any public mass transportation.
I believe it is more accurate to call “free” public transit (or any “free” government program) indirectly, or taxpayer funded transit. I.e. no user fees, just taxes collected from residents living within the jurisdiction whether they use it, or not. In the case of transit, the truly free users will be tourists from out of town.
$8 million per year sounds like not much. Some savings would come from not incurring costs to collect the fares. And more riders could indicate a growing local economy—growth that could offset some or all of the cost.
While I applaud this measure, I fear it might open the door to more “free” services paid for by the masses. Isn’t it bad enough that the taxpayers foot the bill for other services they do not use?
If I hear about another thing being free I think I shall hurl. Anyone who thinks this will be free will be judged as mentally incompetent and won’t be allowed to buy a firearm. Think of all the lives that will saved in the Kansas City area.
Social Security is NOT an entitlement. If you don’t pay into it you don’t receive it. My father worked as an Illinois university professor for 99% of his career. He paid almost nothing into Social Security, so his check is tiny. He makes too much to receive a survivor benefit check from my mother.
Calling SS an entitlement is a lie. It’s a big lie perpetrated by people who want to cut it.
The difference between “entitlements” such as social security and the defense budget is that social security has dedicated funding from a payroll tax and is fully funded and not running in the red (for now). The defence budget is paid for by other taxes collected and federal borrowing. While the defense budget is 693 billion for this year, the amount we have spent on the wars in the middle east and Afghanistan has exceeded 3 Trillion dollars, all of it borrowed. Whether we should have free public transit or not is something I don’t have a good answer for.
Mr Rizzo, everyone pays taxes for public schools they or their kids don’t use, for fire departments few use unless your house is burning down, etc. Those services are for the benefit of your community and your society as a whole. So is mass transit.
Ian: wish you would do your homework. The FY2019 defense budget is 693 B$. Entitlements are always the biggest budget item. Source: Wikipedia. Cheers
Free public transit – in other words, about what it’s worth. There probably are a number of transit systems where the revenue wouldn’t add up to the cost of collecting it. Like Milwaukee’s trolley, which I have ridden for free. The one-man crew is locked in the cab and it would cost money for someone to check tickets, sell tickets, account for the money, etc.
There’s a fine line between subsidized transit (i.e. all systems) and free transit. In reality, what’s the difference and what’s the big deal?It’s the size of the subsidy that’s in play – do you subsidize it 80%, 90% or 100%? What’s the big deal, you might as well make it free and attract more riders to get some use out of it while obliterating the cost of collecting the money.
Ian & Timothy – Excellent comments!
I do think it comes down to what KC wants in this regard and believe a lot of cities should look at it as well. A lot of transit users are not deadbeats but low wage earners, care givers, disable and students simply put. So what are options? you can raise minimum wages so everyone can afford a roof and a car or uber or you can look at free transit where it makes sense as another alternative to give employers a reliable work force.
As far as those who decry another freebie. Guess what? most of us will get more back in social security and medicare than we ever pay into it. Just a simple statistical fact of longevity, capped income when FICA takes out the taxes and benefits tied to inflation. All of us are or will be on WELFARE at some point. Whether it is my +80 yr old dad at the moment who taught for +30 years or myself in 30 years. .
Free public transit. What a radical idea. Somewhere in the category of government provided disability insurance. Or making sure that everyone has access to health care. Or it could be the socialist idea of publicly owned transit.
At some point society has to decide what we as a society want to pay for. Like multi trillions for our common defense. Or billions for the common good.
Will homeless people abandon public libraries and ride transit during the winter?
It is not the cost NOW, but the future costs that will drive this train. Everything wears out and will need to be replaced or repaired. Even a $1 fare would be helpful.