I'm a senior who uses the SMART train, which is free for seniors and youth, and a Clipper card on other transit options. The one issue you did not address is the use of transit as a home for unhoused people when there is no fare required. I also use the LA Metro frequently. The difference between SMART and Metro is the presence of empowered extroverts in the form of conductors on the trains. The Metro frequently has riders who are sleeping, freaking out, smoking crack, fare-jumping, and otherwise behaving inappropriately, with no apparent conductor-type people in sight. Fare collection enforcement seems to be the primary job of the conductors on SMART, though they help maintain a pleasant environment in a number of ways. With or without fares we need empowered humans to support the transit environment in a way that motivates people to use transit instead of driving.
Yeah I can't believe the author didn't mention that concern. I think this is the type of concern that is often ignored by progressives, especially younger male progressives. I don't mean to label (or not label) your concern as feminist, but assuming you are a female your comment reminded me of another post I recently read on how women's concerns often end not getting fore-fronted, even among Democrats, the ostensibly more female party:
I talk about harassment on transit in other articles so I didn't want to re-iterate it here. I agree with fare-based systems tend to have less anti-social activity on them, at least as I've seen with AC Transit.
I think the issue is that transit agencies are not responsible for homelessness and I'm wary of putting all this fiscal burden on them to solve it. Its also harder to get away with anti-social behavior on a bus than a train because a driver is present, and the conversation here is about buses.
Buses also have people who exhibit anti-social behavior. I have found the drivers in northern CA handle it better than on the various bus lines in LA. I think training and empowerment of drivers is important. I love your comparison to libraries, and there are some excellent training resources and handbooks for library staff. Many libraries have security or park rangers who help. I'm not comfortable using fares to create a disincentive for unhoused people to use public services but loss of fares should not mean that proper staffing is no longer needed.
I'm a senior who uses the SMART train, which is free for seniors and youth, and a Clipper card on other transit options. The one issue you did not address is the use of transit as a home for unhoused people when there is no fare required. I also use the LA Metro frequently. The difference between SMART and Metro is the presence of empowered extroverts in the form of conductors on the trains. The Metro frequently has riders who are sleeping, freaking out, smoking crack, fare-jumping, and otherwise behaving inappropriately, with no apparent conductor-type people in sight. Fare collection enforcement seems to be the primary job of the conductors on SMART, though they help maintain a pleasant environment in a number of ways. With or without fares we need empowered humans to support the transit environment in a way that motivates people to use transit instead of driving.
Yeah I can't believe the author didn't mention that concern. I think this is the type of concern that is often ignored by progressives, especially younger male progressives. I don't mean to label (or not label) your concern as feminist, but assuming you are a female your comment reminded me of another post I recently read on how women's concerns often end not getting fore-fronted, even among Democrats, the ostensibly more female party:
https://dilanesper.substack.com/p/feminists-too-often-end-up-in-the
I talk about harassment on transit in other articles so I didn't want to re-iterate it here. I agree with fare-based systems tend to have less anti-social activity on them, at least as I've seen with AC Transit.
I think the issue is that transit agencies are not responsible for homelessness and I'm wary of putting all this fiscal burden on them to solve it. Its also harder to get away with anti-social behavior on a bus than a train because a driver is present, and the conversation here is about buses.
Buses also have people who exhibit anti-social behavior. I have found the drivers in northern CA handle it better than on the various bus lines in LA. I think training and empowerment of drivers is important. I love your comparison to libraries, and there are some excellent training resources and handbooks for library staff. Many libraries have security or park rangers who help. I'm not comfortable using fares to create a disincentive for unhoused people to use public services but loss of fares should not mean that proper staffing is no longer needed.
Minor point -- you mis-spelled Mamdani as Mandani a bunch.