eye on the news
Should Public Transit Be Free?
No—and the progressive push to eliminate fares will hurt poor and minority riders most.
Public safety
Economy, finance, and budgets
Should public transit be free? Massachusetts representative Ayanna Pressley thinks so. Her Freedom to Move Act offers $5 billion in grants to entice the nation’s transit systems to go fare-free. To qualify for grants, transit agencies would also have to improve safety and quality, particularly in low-income and historically underserved communities. Unfortunately, experience shows that these two goals aren’t always compatible.
A side effect of getting rid of fares is eliminating fare enforcement, which advocates say disproportionally targets black and other minority riders. Thus, the progressives backing Pressley’s bill (and the companion bill introduced by Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey) view fare-free transit as part of a larger social-justice agenda.