TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! COMING SOON: KANSAS CITY GREEN BUS EFFORT TO MAKE THE BUS FREE!!!
Here's a bit of important news that was just sent our way and reprsents the best GREEN effort we've ever seen in the Kansas City metro . . .
TOP ECHELON TIPSTERS TELL US THAT THERE'S A MOVE UNDERWAY TO ELIMINATE THE FARE FOR THE KANSAS CITY METRO!!!
This could be the greatest advancement in Kansas City history that's not only green but also very smart.
Check it:
HERE ARE THE TOP FIVE REASONS THAT THE KANSAS CITY BUS SHOULD BE GREEN AND FREE!!!
1. Nobody is making a mint from bus fare. It's actually more of a hassle to collect it.
2. The bus is funded by Fed Tax Dollars and removing the fee would obviously spike ridership that's been stagnant for quite some time.
3. Other, better cities are eliminating bus fare in order to increase ridership.
4. The KC Metro could survive without the fare but eliminating the cost would make public transit an even more attractive option.
5. REAL public transit see this as a way to direct public transit to the most needed areas that is part of an effort to tout a strategy more effective than a toy train streetcar.
We'll have more on this later . . .
For not . . .
REMEMBER TKC BROKE THE STORY ABOUT THE GREEN EFFORT TO ELIMINATE KANSAS CITY BUS FARE FIRST ON THIS KICK-ASS BLOG!!!
Developing . . .
New slogan: just like Portland but cheaper.
ReplyDeleteFares make up 17% or KCATA's operating budget.
ReplyDeleteHaving them eliminate fares would be like TKC being honest, not making stuff up (like this), straightforward, slander-free, and without bias.
In other words, never.
17% is an absolute lie Russ Johnson.
ReplyDeleteYou know we can get along without your train just fine!
The bus the ATU had at the Brookside St. Patricks parade was really sweet and very plush. While running next to the crowd it was quiet and you could not smell exhaust. It was a hybrid system with natural gas. Much more environmentally friendly than the coal burning electric streetcar.
ReplyDeleteyou mean "kiss-ass blog."
ReplyDeleteBend over Patsy and get ready to feel the sweet lips of Botello on your generous posterior.
smoochies.
ReplyDeleteWe all want to hug David J.
This will increase ridership, but it also create the need for affordable transit even more. If the route is going to be free, then why spend $50M per mile if the Metro can cover the entire region for under $100M.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of free buses. Now let's defeat the streetcar so we can get serious about improvements.
@El Bryan - Have you been to Jackson County Courthouse lately... the propaganda there about the toy train is overwhelming. This town does need to get serious about public transit service and if the bus is free, there's no need for a toy train.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to think of this. I wish this was defeat for the stupid toy train. I just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteWhen the last ATA proposal was put before voters, ATA claimed fares made up 12% of their budget. At that time it seemed to me that ATA spent more than 12% of its budget printing passes, collecting money, accounting for the money, etc. I wrote the following proposing "Free Ride KC:" I think most of the points are still valid:
ReplyDeleteIf bus rides were free,
1. There would be no reason for anyone to ask you if you could spare some change for bus fare.
2. More people would ride the bus. People who may be unable to understand that current bus prices are less expensive than driving would have no difficulty understanding that free is cheaper than driving.
3. Fewer people would drive, so getting around would be easier for those who still must drive.
4. Less traffic would mean less traffic-related wear and tear on the streets, which would lead to street repair savings for the city.
5. Less traffic means less pollution, fewer ozone alert days, and better compliance with clean air standards.
6. Less driving means more fuel conservation. More fuel conservation means less dependence on oil. Kansas City could set an example for the nation.
7. Eliminating the job of making sure everyone pays, has a pass, has a still-valid transfer, etc. would make bus drivers’ jobs easier.
8. Eliminating the bureaucracy that prints, distributes, and sells bus passes and tracks income from fares would result in savings in labor and benefits.
9. A successful free ride program in Kansas City may encourage JOCO residents to be more open to a bi-state bus system. After all, suburbanites are the ones being hit hardest by the high cost of fuel, and suburbanites like the word “free” as much as anyone else.
10. The Free Ride program would help everyone, but especially those most in need—those who must rely on public transit.
11. And yes, this would be a subsidy, but not as a large a subsidy as the city provides de rigueur to auto traffic. Surely no one thinks streets, traffic lights, police to patrol traffic, street repairs, street plowing, etc. are done without cost to taxpayers.
12. If Kansas City can afford to provide a free ride for developers and people who purchase high-end condos, surely we can provide a free ride for the ordinary citizens who use public transportation.
I'm surprised that one or more of the announced council candidates hasn't already proposed that EVERYTHING should be free.
ReplyDeleteFree buses, streetcrs, electricity, water service, ambulances...let the good times roll!
And making the buses free would help the folks who ride buses, namely the people with no other transportation. All the ideas about more people leaving their car at home and riding the bus, saving wear on the streets, and enticing suburban commuters to get on the buses are pipe dreams.
If you can afford convenience, you drive, and with getting around the metro as easy and cheap as it is, the "mass" in masss transit won't be appearing anytime soon.
Polar Bears support free buses...
ReplyDeleteIf the bus rides become free please notify the feral simians so they do not inadvertently try to hold up the bus driver for the non-existent fares.
ReplyDeleteThe 17℅ figure is from the KCATA website.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kcata.org/about_kcata/entries/local_state_and_federal_sources
It's the only fact in this post. It otherwise seems like Fantasy Island
Busses for city.
ReplyDeleteToy Train for Downtown.