Re:An interactive exploration of Boston's subway system
by martinald on Tuesday June 10, 2014 @06:47PM
(#7875741)
The real problem with making buses free is that they basically become homeless shelters on wheels, especially in winter. This then means people don't take the bus, which means routes get cut back, which means yet more people for take the bus.
The best solution is to have cashless buses. In London, you can only use Oyster card or visa/MasterCard/Amex contact less payment cards to ride. It seems to have smoothed things considerably.
1. Drivers might be in less of a hurry. MBTA busses frequently run red lights and/or sit in the middle of intersections creating gridlock. [Source: Pick any busy downtown intersection during rush hour and wait <15 minutes. Watch.]
2. In my (admittedly limited) observation, Boston bus riders tend to fall into two groups.
(a) Relatively affluent riders connecting to the T (the subway or trolley). The MBTA will still get some money.
(b) Relatively poor riders commuting solely by bus to one of the multiple jobs they're holding down per day. Consider this a kind of reverse sales tax.