while a lot of the pushback is from fearmongerers lashing out at the homeless on transit (which is a problem, but wider than transit, since mayor garcetti has been wholly ineffective for 7+ years at getting the homeless off the streets), i find that an ugly distraction from the real issue of "free" being too easily conflated with "worthless".

we all need skin in the game in the form of paying for our services to feel their worth and make better transit decisions. there's an argument to be made that a certain portion of transit benefits everyone, so everyone, in the form of taxes, should pay that portion (and only that portion). and sure, subsidize the disadvantaged for equal opportunities' sake, but don't make it free for everyone.

[0]: https://thesource.metro.net/2020/08/27/metro-to-study-and-co... [1]: https://thesource.metro.net/2020/09/03/tap-is-now-on-iphone-...