https://reasonstobecheerful.world/kansas-city-fare-free-transit-safer/
"Kansas City, Missouri, made national headlines in the fall of 2019 when its
city council voted unanimously to become America’s first large city to make
public transportation free citywide. Now, two and a half years later, anyone
living anywhere in the city can ride buses without paying a fare.
How has that worked out for the riders and the city?
Survey data shows the move has largely been successful in advancing local
transit equity — though it also highlights what remains to be done to allow all
Kansas Citians equal access to the sprawling metropolitan area.
A study conducted as part of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City’s annual
“State of Black Kansas City” report last year asked 1,686 riders for their
feedback on what Zero Fare has enabled them to do. The responses show how a
Zero Fare policy makes a big difference in these riders’ ability to exercise
the so-called “right to the city.”
Almost 90 percent of the riders surveyed said they rode the buses more as a
result of Zero Fare. About 92 percent said it allowed them to shop for food
more often; 88 percent said they could see their healthcare providers more
easily or more often; 82 percent said it allowed them to get or keep a job; and
86 percent said it made them feel like city leadership is concerned about their
needs — a sore subject for mostly-Black East Side residents, who often complain
that the city pays more attention to its whiter and more affluent West Side."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
