If you want transportation free of sleepers and walking dead, there must be fares and gates. Otherwise you’ll end up with the horrors of the LA Metro… meth heads smoking up, stairs dripping with blood, etc.

Many European cities have low flat fares and no gates. And yet, they don't encounter the problems LA has. Maybe it's a problem of society and not public transport.

Even if it's due to society, what are you going to do? Burn LA/CA to the ground and rebuild its society and culture to your tastes? The fact is that in the context of LA, fares and gates are needed.

How about we try healthcare and housing? No need to sleep on the bus when you can sleep at home.

Yes, and definitely before free transit.

It's funny how every time these things get brought up, some body will always write "well, there wouldn't be crackheads on the bus if our society was perfect. Let's make society better first, then we can solve crackheads on busses".

Good root cause analysis; now get on it before free transit.

Some Americans will believe anything that helps them push away the thought that their social safety net is broken.

No belief here, seen with my own eyes. Nationalism not a good look.