Reply to 70% of WMATA bus riders don't pay

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "70% of WMATA bus riders don't pay"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Did read the whole thread, but I recently learned that you can just tap your credit card to pay on buses, like you can at metro. My smart trip would run out and I wouldn’t pay because it’s hard to add fare, but now I just tap my credit card.

My kids both qualify for kids ride freee but rarely have th

eir cards on them, and say the drivers never ask for them. We actually got into a fight about this when they insisted their metro rides to Tyson’s from dc was free due to their being DCPS students.

My suggestion to whomever wins for mayor: make buses free. [/quote]

Free buses have been proven time and again to be absolutely horrific public policy. They make buses more dangerous and slower and do not increase ridership (or lead to a decrease in people commuting by personal car).

https://www.city-journal.org/article/free-buses-new-york-times-zohran-mamdani

https://slate.com/business/2025/07/zohran-mamdani-free-buses-bad-transit-plans-good.html

If we want more people to ride buses, we need to both charge a fare and make sure riders pay it.[/quote]

If you actually ride the bus, you know that most of the people who jump on the bus without paying are not the type of people you want to ride the bus with. Smoking, fighting, playing loud music, mentally unstable, aggressive, openly doing/selling drugs. At best, they just pass out. I’m not talking about “ride free” students or the bus fare box not working. Drug abuse has skyrocketed in the District, partially because dealers and addicts  can jump on for free at Chinatown, and make stops along the way in Shaw, Park View, Kennedy St, Silver Spring etc. They cover a wider area than ever before, no longer in one spot. No one will tell them no and there is nothing to stop them.

Making people pay something, even a penny, creates a social contract. A free for all is not safe in this city. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics