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A comment on Iowa City made its buses free. traffic cleared, and so did the air. Parent comment

Re:Iowa City made its buses free. traffic cleared, and so di... by hodgesrm on Sunday November 23, 2025 @09:00PM (#46029528)
I use public transit (mostly SF BART) on a regular basis. It's not a matter of "don't want," it's a matter of public safety. People won't use public transit if they have to deal with mentally ill people or hucksters.

This is very basic economics of public transit. I completely agree with the comment about having a minimum payment and enforcement.

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Re:Iowa City made its buses free. traffic cleared, and so di... by viraptor on Sunday November 23, 2025 @10:28PM (#46030055)
> People won't use public transit if they have to deal with mentally ill people or hucksters.

Do they also not use the streets in that case? There's nothing preventing "mentally ill people or hucksters" from being there.

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Re:Iowa City made its buses free. traffic cleared, and so di... by hodgesrm on Monday November 24, 2025 @12:15AM (#46030608)
Yes, they avoid streets too. That's one of the reasons that San Francisco shopping around Union Square has collapsed. [0] There were other reasons like COVID as well.

[0] https://www.businessinsider.com/san-franciscos-union-square-...

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