Julia Conley
Lawmakers in Kansas City, Missouri took a “visionary step” on December 5, 2019 by unanimously voting to make public transportation in the city free of charge, setting the stage for it to be the first major US city to have free public transit.
The Kansas City Council voted to direct the city manager to set aside $8 million to eliminate the $1.50 per ride fare that currently applies to the city’s bus system.
Some frequent riders could save about $1,000 per year under the new plan, according to KCUR, the city’s public radio station.
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority also expressed approval, with CEO Robbie Makinen telling KCUR that residents will be able to put the money they save on transportation toward other necessities, boosting the economy.
Supporters of the measure on social media pointed out that free public transit could have positive impacts on economic inequality, the city’s efforts to fight the climate crisis, and mass incarceration—as other cities, like New York, are cracking down on public transit fare evasion.
Free public transit has been shown to drastically reduce automobile use and emissions elsewhere, such as in Tallinn, Estonia, wrote economic researcher Curtis Myers.
City council member Eric Bunch, who co-sponsored the measure, told the local press that he aims to help marginalized communities access the city.
“When we’re talking about improving people’s lives who are our most vulnerable citizens, I don’t think there’s any question that we need to find that money,” Bunch said.
“I don’t want to do it for any sort of national recognition, I want to do it because it’s the right thing to do, I believe that people have a right to move about this city,” he told KCUR.
The move did win national recognition, with lawmakers in other large cities praising the initiative and saying they aimed to push for similar programs for their constituents.
“Now let’s do this everywhere,” tweeted Matt Haugen, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America environmental steering committee.
(Julia Conley is staff writer for Common Dreams, a non-profit independent US news portal.)
