D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit systems take off

Re:D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit syste... by Retric on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @01:28AM (#34591933)

That 39% is for all transit Bus is 19.7% Nationally and 13.6% for WMATA.

Nationally in millions, Bus: (Fare Revenues 3,778) / (Operating expenses 16,110.4 + Use of capital funds 3,0444.7) = 19.7%. They also break out Bus Rapid Transit which is much worse 16.1 / (166.1 + 51.7) = 7.4% as is Commuter Bus 57.9 / (597.7 + 170.7) = 7.5%

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Bus: $124,011,141 / ( $731,946,008 + $182,850,687 ) = 13.6%

So for WMATA forgoing Bus revenue wouldn’t move the needle very much.

PS: And that’s ignoring the overhead of collecting fairs. Skip that step and busses can move faster.

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Re:D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit syste... by cinntaile on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @03:37AM (#34592769)

* * *

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Re:D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit syste... by Retric on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @07:55AM (#34594474)

The driver or buss still needs to verify your ticket.

Compare a line of 20 people all try to get on and swipe a metro card vs a line of 20 people all trying to get on. Even collage busses where all people need to do is show school ID you still get people in line who suddenly can’t find their ID.

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Re:D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit syste... by cinntaile on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @08:45AM (#34610278)

A public transport bus usually has several entrances, you can have a machine inside the bus at each entrance. Not everyone will play nice and pay if the bus driver doesn't check the ticket, but you could have random controls on the bus from time to time. In practice you of course have to weigh the costs of these different approaches.

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