They don’t think of themselves as straphangers anymore free transit means little when the bus is a mile from your house. And that may underestimate the preference, because so many low-income people have been pushed out of close-in, well-served neighborhoods where transit works. What’s true in Boston is true nationally: Riders say they want better service, not cheaper service. If free buses can’t capture subway riders, why would they lure drivers? In Boston, for example, of MBTA pass holders given free access to the city’s bus network before COVID, 40 percent never rode a single bus. In cities with more wealthy riders, though, free transit isn’t just a regressive redistribution of tax money-it’s also not clear how many high-income riders would get on board. (There are many more studies of free transit in Europe, but the continent’s excellent service and high cost of car ownership make them dubious points of comparison.)

He pointed to an MIT study that showed that low-income residents in Boston with discounted CharlieCards took about 30 percent more trips, especially for health care visits. Low-income riders do use transit more once fare discounts are offered, observed Steven Higashide, the research director at the think tank TransitCenter and author of Better Buses, Better Cities. As the Gap Finder attests, what passes for regular service in Los Angeles would appall riders in Chicago or D.C.-to say nothing of London or Tokyo.

Only one-time stimulus from the federal relief bill and sustained pressure from activists got those buses restored. On the other, a service-for-fares bargain was exactly what was proposed at last summer’s announcement of the free transit pilot, which was paired with bus service cuts of 20 percent.

San manuel free play for bus riders