Kansas City Freebie Bus Ride Teachable Moments: You Get What You Pay For . . .

A local good government mag report on Kansas City policy excludes most negative feedback.

More than anything else . . .

Complaints about safety, wait times and all around poor service have plagued Kansas City free bus rides.

Moreover . . .

Ridership for the bus has actually DECLINED since free rides have been mandated by local politicos.

These are REAL issues that deserve discussion, sadly, mainstream news simply ignores most criticism and would rather just report a questionable narrative . . .

"Fare-free transit has become a topic of intense debate in cities big and small over the last few years. To date, Kansas City is the largest city to have made the plunge. In 2019, the City Council directed the city manager to dedicate $8 million to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) to make up for lost fare revenue. While the zero-fare program was initially meant only for trips that originated in Kansas City, Mo., the Authority and partner agencies decided to make the entire system fare-free in March of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

"The program is set to sunset at the end of 2023, but local officials are preparing to make it permanent. They say it’s been a success on nearly all the measures they care about. But the lessons they’ve learned may not be so easy to transport to other cities."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

What Can Cities Learn from Kansas City's Fare-Free Transit Program?

When Kansas City opened a new streetcar in 2016, it was simultaneously a throwback to a bygone era and a bet on the future of its downtown. The 2.2-mile line, which runs every 10 to 20 minutes on a north-south route through the central business district, was imagined from the get-go as a tool for promoting downtown economic development.