Montgomery County, Maryland, reports Dana Munroe and Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post that they have just eliminated bus fares as part of an effort to increase transportation access for low-income residents.
Nearly half of Montgomery County bus riders make less than $30,000 a year. “Montgomery’s new policy will officially begin on Sunday and will be added to the existing policy that allows passengers under the age of 18 to ride freely, but the county has quietly stopped accepting fares from all recent bus riders.”
The county discussed how to approach fares and transport funds for months before reaching consensus. One factor that has led to the scale in favour of free fares is that the installation of a credit card tap mechanism for fare collection on the system’s bus will cost around $19 million, or about eight years of revenue.
“One of the big concerns about free buses is that a lack of income can justify counties investing in the system, particularly as Montgomery County addresses the economic impact of large-scale federal spending cuts and job cuts in the Trump administration.” But for now, residents who save money on fares see it as a “good gesture” even leaving something that requires the frequency of service.
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