Opinion: Transit Needs to Be Better, Not Cheaper

With many U.S. transit agencies facing severe gaps in service and budget shortfalls, some advocates argue that improved service matters more than free fares.

2 minute read

June 9, 2021, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Los Angeles Metro Bus

The Port of Authority / Wikimedia Commons

Despite a "growing movement" to make public transit fare-free, Henry Grabar argues in a piece for Slate that getting rid of fares would not help the poorest and most underserved transit riders. Jarrett Walker, a Portland-based transit planner and author of Human Transit, agrees. "I’ve heard people describe the free fare movement as being a movement for free, terrible service, and that’s how the trade-off ends up working if you expect this to happen inside the budget of an impoverished American transit agency." While research shows that low-income riders do use transit more when offered discounts, they also "overwhelmingly said reliability was a bigger concern than affordability."

Advocates for free transit argue that it's a matter of priorities. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for example, "spends many times its bus budget on capital projects and highways, funds that could easily be reapportioned to bulk up its transit offerings." Yet "[m]ost transit experts support targeted discount programs for low-income riders, like the one operated by King County, Washington, which runs transit service in Seattle. They also admit they haven’t done a great job helping people access such programs, a point in favor of a 'free school lunch' analogy; benefits are only good if people can get them." Improving accessibility and service, writes Grabar, could do more to increase ridership than free fares. Ultimately, "[r]iders say they want better service, not cheaper service."

Steven Polzin also wrote a detailed cost-benefit analysis of reduced- and free-fare transit for Planetizen in 2018.

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 in Slate

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Aerial view of Albuquerque, New Mexico at sunset.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico

An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

May 16 - Source NM

Close-up on white bike helmet lying on pavement with blurred red bike on its side in background abd black car visible behind it.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes

Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

May 16 - Wood TV 8

Muni bus on red painted bus-only lane in downtown San Francisco, California.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels

Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.

May 16 - Mass Transit