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 tshaddox on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @01:36AM (#34591979)

Recovery rates are almost all under 20% in the US, and these numbers don’t even incorporate the cost of selling tickets and ticket enforcement or the costs of the initial builds and expansions (which are almost entirely paid for by the taxpayer).

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Re:D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit syste... by BuyMyBitcoins on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @09:31AM (#34595419)

That’s still a significant amount of money, even though it’s under 20% of the total operating cost. For most of the entries in that article it covers tens of millions of dollars.

I don’t think the cost of issuing tickets and enforcement is that significant compared to how much money collecting fares brings in. It certainly doesn’t seem like something that is done at a loss or something that barely breaks even.

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Re:D.C. free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit syste... by tshaddox on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @03:35PM (#34601574)

It's not nothing, but if the goal is to turn a profit it's nowhere close. On the other hand, if the goal is to get more people riding public transit, I'd want to look into how removing fees might help that goal.

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